The Work Of Shakespearea Midsummer Nights Dream

THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE
GENERAL EDITOR : W. J. CRAIG
1899-1906 : R. H. CASE, 1909

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

THE WORKS

OF

S H AKESPEA R E

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

EDITED BY

HENRY CUNINGHAM

METHUEN & GO. LTD.

36 ESSEX STREET: STRAND
LONDON

Secofid Ediiim

’j

First Published
Second Edition

. February iQojf
. IQ22

CONTENTS

FAGB

Introduction * ix

A Midsummer-Night’s Dream i

Appendix I. — Mr. P. A. Daniel on the Duration of

the Action . . 161

Appendix II. — Mr. P. A. Daniel’s Note on ii. i. 9 . 163

Appendix III. — Passages from Chaucer’s “Knightes

Tale” 164

Appendix IV. — The Story of Pyramus and Thisee in

Golding’s Translation cfe “ Ovid ” . . . 167

INTRODUCTION

The characteristic features of this edition of A Mid-
summer-Nights Dream are, first, an attempt to produce a
text in advance of anything which has hitherto been
published ; and, secondly, an attempt to elucidate some of
the long-standing difficulties connected with the interpreta-
tion of well-known passages in the play. Such, eg, are
(a) the corrections of “ fair spirit ? II. I. I ; of £< room good
fairy,” II. i. 58; of “ lack-love kill-courtesy ? II. n, 76 ; of
" No, No, he 'll . . III. ii. 2*5 7 ; u poor simple duty l 1 V. i.
91 ; of “ lily mows? V. i. 328: (b) the elucidations of
“ hold or cut bow-strings ? I. ii. 1 1 2 ; “ the human mortals
want their winter cheer? II. i. 101 ; the source of the well-
known a fearful wild-fowl? III. i. 33 ; the attempted eluci-
dation of “ wondrous strange snow? V. i. 59; and the true
meaning of “ late deceased ” in V. X $3. It remains to be
seen how far the judgement and knowledge of the editor fall
short of attaining that ideal standard of textual criticism
which every editor of Shakespeare worthy of the name
ought always to keep in mind ; a standard which is only
to be attained, to quote the words of Dr. H. H. Furness
( New Variorum ed., Preface, xxi), by the exercise of that
u exquisite nicety demanded at the present day in emend-
ing Shakespeare’s text,— a nicety of judgment, a nicety of

INTRODUCTION

f

I

X

knowledge of Elizabethan literature, a nicety of ear, which
alone bars all foreigners from the task, and, beyond all,
a thorough mastery of Shakespeare’s style and ways of
thinking, which alone should bar all the rest of us.” It
can only be attained by the exercise, as Mr. Churton
Collins puts it, in his essay on “ The Porson of Shake-
spearean Criticism” ( Essays and Studies , 1895, p. 281),
“ of that fine and rare faculty, if it be not rather an
exquisite temper and harmony of various faculties, which
seems to admit a critic for a moment into the very
sanctuary of genius. In less figurative language, it is the
faculty of divining and recovering, as by the power of some
subtle sympathy, the lost touch — the touch of magic, often
in the expression of poetry so precarious and delicate, that,
dependent on a single word, a stroke of the pen may efface,
just as a stroke of the pen may restore it.” If the standard
cannot be attained, it can at least be kept in sight. But
the critic of this latter day does not keep the ideal in sight
He is usually satisfied to print the old corruptions, and to
adopt the despairing position of Dr. Furness when he says
(Preface, p. xxii), “ Moreover, by this time the text of Shake-
speare has become so fixed and settled that I think it safe
to predict that unless a veritable MS. of Shakespeare’s
own be discovered, not a single future emendation will be
generally accepted in critical editions. Indeed, I think, even
a wider range may be assumed, so as to include in this list
all emendations, that is, substitutions of words, which have
been proposed since the days of Collier. . . . There is the
text, and we must comprehend it if we can ”

Now the text of Shakespeare is by no means “fixed
\ < 'arid settled*” ; Far from it 'Even in A Midsummer-Nights

I

INTRODUCTION xi

Dream , the text of which has reached us in a state of
comparative correctness and purity, there are passages
which are admittedly corrupt, but which have hitherto
defied the efforts of all the critics and commentators to
fix and settle. The true course for an editor to adopt
in the matter of textual criticism, is neither the despairing
attitude of rigid conservatism, nor yet the “ wild and whirk
ing freedom of exsuffiicate and blown surmises,” but rather
that sober boldness and spirit of inquiry commingled of
blood and judgement, the result, so far as he can attain it,
of that nicety of knowledge and judgement of which Dr.
Furness speaks. To make his text and textual notes of
any permanent value, he must at least stamp them with
his own individuality. He must, in the words of the
admonition beheld by Spenser's Britomart on the “ yron
dores ” in the castle of Busyrane ( Faerie Queene 3 III, c. xi.
st. 54):

Be bold \ be bold , , and everywhere be bold ;

Be not too bold .

He must have no timidity in rejecting questionable read-
ings. But, — and there is every virtue in this “ but,” — there
must be no restless ingenuity or imperfect knowledge. He
must be neither over-bold nor over-cautious ; and, above
all, he must remember that nothing is to be gained by
perpetuating error. And this is exactly what he continues
to do. Now, in this respect, we have, once and for all, the
old texts with us. They are our Krrj/nara h ad. Nothing
short of a world's cataclysm can deprive us of them. But
nothing is more certain than that we have not got the
text; :'bf the' 'plays as they left their author's hand I

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x5i ! INTRODUCTION

t

cordially agree with Dyce in his remarks in the Preface to
his second edition, 1866, speaking of the difference between
legitimate emendation and extravagant alteration: “In
short, I now believe that an exact reprint of the old text
with its multifarious errors forms a ‘more valuable contribu-
tion to literature than a semi-corrected text, which, purged
here and there of the grossest blunders, continues still,
almost in every page, to offend against sense and metre. If
the most eminent classical scholars, in editing the dramas
of antiquity, have not scrupled frequently to employ con-
jecture for the restoration of the text, I cannot understand
why an editor of Shakespeare — whose plays have come
down to us no less disfigured by corruption than the
masterpieces of the Athenian stage — should hesitate to
adopt the happiest of the emendations proposed from time
to time during more than a century and a half” [Dyce
would now say “ during nearly two centuries ”] “ by men
of great sagacity and learning, — always assuming that the
deviations from the early editions are duly recorded.”
The true function, therefore, of the well-equipped editor — •
“ all-furnish’d, all in arms ” — is, not to perpetuate error by
reprinting admitted corruptions, but to strive with all his
might after the attainment of a perfect text, and only to
leave it, according to the measure of his abilities, in such a
state as he conceives it might have left the great master’s
hand. The text is, after all, the unum necessarium, the
one thing needful, “ the weightier matter of the law so far
indeed is it from being “ the mint, anise, and cumin of
pedantic criticism,” as a recent editor puts it. (See Mr.
Bellyse Baildon’s Introduction to Titus Andronicus , Arden
edition, p. x.)

INTRODUCTION xiii

The text of this play has reached us in a state more
perfect than perhaps that of any other play of Shakespeare.
This may be due to its having been printed, in all. prob-
ability, either from the authentic MS. of Shakespeare him-
self, or at least from an. accurate copy, or, perhaps, copies
of the actors’ parts, transcribed in the theatre from the
original MS. At any rate we are primarily concerned with
three important originals — if they may be so styled —
namely, the two Quartos, both printed in 1600, in Shake-
speare’s own lifetime, and the First Folio, printed in 1623,
seven years after his death. Strictly speaking, there is
only one “ original,” the First Quarto. The First Quarto
(Q 1), sometimes called “ Fisher’s Quarto,” was the initial
trade venture of a young stationer called Thomas Fisher,
and was issued under a licence to print granted by the
Master Wardens of the Stationers’ Company in October
1600, such licence being the nearest approach in later
Elizabethan times to the system of modern copyright.
In Arber’s Transcript of the Stationers' Register , vol. in,
p. 1 74, the licence runs as follows : —

8

Thomas FfysSHER. Entred for his copie vnder
the handes of Master
RODES I and the Wardens
A booke called A myd-
sommer nightes Dreame . . vj d

The title-page of Q r runs as follows: — “A [ Midfommer
nights j dreame. j As it hath beene fundry times pub- j
lickely acted \ by the Right honoura- | ble, the Lord

INTRODUCTION

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xiv \

Ghamberlaine his | feruants. | Written by William Shake-
speare. [Then follows the device of a king-fisher, with the
motto, Motos foleo componere fiuctus.] ^[Imprinted at
London, for Thomas Fisher , and are to j be foulde at his
fhoppe, at the Signe of the White. Hart, | in Fleeteftreete.
1600

The text of the other Quarto (Q 2), sometimes called
‘‘ Roberts’s Quarto,” seems to have been founded on that
of Fisher, and was apparently unauthorised, as no entry of
any licence to print it has been found in the Registers.
Its title-page is identical with that of Q 1, save that it
bears a heraldic device, with the motto, Post Tenebras Lvx,
and it is “ Printed by lames Roberts, x 600.”

It is tolerably certain that Fisher’s “ authorised ” Quarto
takes priority in point of time, notwithstanding that some
eminent critics are inclined to think otherwise. Halliwell,
for instance, is apparently of this opinion, on the ground
of the superior correctness of Fisher’s Quarto, his inference
being that it was printed from a corrected copy of Q 2 ;
and Fleay likewise, for the somewhat surprising reason that
printers’ errors are far more likely to have been introduced
than corrected in a second edition. Broadly speaking, Q 1
must always be regarded as our authentic and original
text.

Knight well remarks {Introduction, p. 331, circ. 1840):
“One thing is perfectly clear to us — that the original of
these editions, whichever it might be, was printed from a
genuine copy and carefully superintended through the
press. The text appears to us as perfect as it is possible
to be, considering the state of typography in that day.
There is one remarkable evidence of this. The prologue to

INTRODUCTION

XV

the interlude of the Clowns is purposely made inaccurate
in its punctuation throughout* ... It was impossible to
have effected the object better than by the punctuation of
Roberts's edition ; and this is precisely one of those matters
of nicety in which a printer would have failed, unless he
had followed an extremely clear copy or his proofs had
been corrected by an author or an editor.”

There are certain distinguishing features and also"*
points of resemblance characteristic of these three texts.
In Q i the entrances of the characters are indicated, but the
exits are often omitted ; the text is superior, and likewise
the punctuation ; but the spelling is archaic, possibly as the
result of having been set up by the ear from dictation;
and the typography is much inferior to that of Q 2, the
founts of type having been mixed, and the type old and
battered. In Q 2 the exits are far more carefully marked,
and it is superior generally in stage-directions ; whilst the
punctuation is inferior, though the type is comparatively
clear. Q 2 corrects some of the mistakes in Q 1 ; but, on the
other hand, it commits more than it corrects. Q 2 has the
larger page, but both texts are, generally speaking, line for
line; in both the stage-directions are in the imperative,
as is customary in stage copies ; and in both there are
numerous examples of spelling by the ear, as the result of
the practice of the sixteenth and seventeenth century printers
not composing by the eye from a written or printed copy, but
by the ear from dictation. In respect of the superior stage-
directions of Q 2, it may not be unlawful to conjecture that
Roberts had taken a copy of Fisher's Quarto to a theatrical
representation, or had otherwise procured a prompter's copy
and improved the stage-directions of his edition accordingly.

f

1 :

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xvi j INTRODUCTION

V

« The proofs are abundantly clear that the text of the
Folio is simply that of a copy of Q 2, which had been in
use by the prompter as a stage copy; and it is doubtful
whether, in the printing of the Folio, the latter obtained
more than a superficial and cursory revision. If so, how is
it to be reconciled with the statement of Shakespeare’s
“ fellowes Heminge and Condell, in their well-known
r address “ to the great Variety of Readers,” prefixed to the
First Folio, namely, that the Folio text came directly from
Shakespeare’s own “ papers,” which they had received from
him with “ scarse a blot” ? It may be, as Furness suggests
(Preface, p. xii), that Heminge and Condell (being, in all
probability, well acquainted with Roberts’s trade methods, *
and the manner in which his Quarto originated), neverthe-
less believed they were telling the substantial truth, in-
asmuch as in using the printed text of Q 2, “ they were
virtually using Shakespeare’s MS., if they in fact knew that
this text was printed directly from his MS., and had been
for years used in their theatre as a stage copy, with possibly
additional stage business marked on the margin for the use
of the prompter, and here and there sundry emendations,
noted possibly by the author’s own hand, who, by these
changes, theoretically authenticated all the rest of the text” ;
However this may be, it is clear from many proofs that J
the text of the Folio has its direct origin in a stage copy of
Q2. Furness gives a noteworthy example in III. i. 165,
where Titania calls for Pease-blossom ! Cobweb ! Moth !
(Qq, Ff) and Mustardseed! and the four little fairies enter,
exclaiming in turn, “ Ready” “ And I,” “And I,” “ And If
In the Folio, Titania’s call is converted into a stage-
direction, with Enter before it, and the fairies as they come :

INTRODUCTION

xvii

in call out “ Ready,” without having been summoned. But
in the Qq they enter in obedience to Titania’s call, and the
only stage-direction is, Enter foure Fairy es. All proper
names in the Qq, Ff are printed in italics, as are also all
stage-directions. Now in Q i the Queen's summons to her
attendants is correctly printed as the concluding line of her
speech, and in italics, thus : “ Pease-blossome , Cobweb , Moth^
and Mustard-seede ? ” In Q 2 the line is also printed as
concluding Titania's speech, but the compositor overlooked
both the “ and ” in Roman type, which he changed to italic,
and the note of interrogation at the end, which he changed
to a full stop, thus converting it into a genuine stage-
direction ; and as such it was undoubtedly copied by the
compositor of the Folio, who prefixed Enter , and changed
Enter foure fairies into and foure Fairies , thereby making
the number of fairies eight in all

Another kind of variation between the stage copy of
Q 2 and the Folio is apparent in the first scene of the play,
where Theseus bids Philostrate, his Master of the Revels,
“ Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments” (line 12).
Philostrate retires, and at once Egeus enters. Except in
the last scene, these two characters are never on the stage
together ; so that down to the last scene one actor would
“double” the parts. In the last scene one must be
omitted; this is Philostrate, as the least important. In
an acting text the prefixes to the speeches must therefore
be changed, and in this last scene the prefix Egeus must
be substituted for Philostrate, No doubt this took place
in the acting copy of Q 2 ; but in V. L 76, the Folio has
retained Phi. instead of changing it into Egeus \ as in the
remainder of the scene. In V. i 127, the Folio has the
b

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INTRODUCTION

stage -direction " Tawyer with a Trumpet before them ”
before the entrance of Pyramus and the others. Tawyer
was the name of one of the company, or at any rate a
subordinate in the pay of Heminge. (See HalHwell, Outlines
of Shakespeare's Life> p. 500.) In III. i. 1 16, the Folio has
the stage-direction u Enter Piramus with the Asse head ” —
significant of the prompter's knowledge of only one ass’s
head being amongst the theatrical properties.

Further, there is one line in the Qq which is entirely
omitted in the Folio, namely, III. ii. 344, Her. “ I am amazed
and know not what to say.” Exeunt Exeunt is also omitted
in the Folio, but it is essential as a stage-direction ; hence
the conclusion is inevitable that as the line appears in
the Qq its omission in the Folio is a mere compositor’s
blunder.

Lastly, it may be noted that in V. i. 321 the stage-
direction in the Folio is “ Enter Thisbe ” and that this
direction is printed before the speech of Theseus ; thereby
indicating that the actor was to be ready before he has to
make his actual appearance on the stage; and showing
indubitably that the Folio must have been printed from a
stage copy.

The First Folio text was reproduced, more or less
correctly, in the Second Folio of 1632 (F 2), the Third
Folio of 1664 (F 3), and the Fourth Folio of 1685
(F 4).

The title of this play has given rise to a considerable
amount of comment and conjecture. “ I know not,” says
Dr. Johnson, “ why Shakespeare calls the play A Mid-
summer Night’s Dream when he so carefully informs us
that it happened on the night preceding May day.”

INTRODUCTION

xix

Farmer remarks, “ The title of this play seems no moYe
intended to denote the precise time of the action than that
of The Winters Tale } which we find was at the season
of sheep-shearing.” <c In Twelfth Night, ” says Steevens,
“ Olivia observes of Malvolio’s seeming frenzy that it is
a very Midsummer madness. That time of the year we
may therefore suppose was anciently thought productive of
mental vagaries resembling the scheme of Shakespeare’s
play. To this circumstance it might have owed its title.”
Malone thought, no doubt wrongly , that the title was sug-
gested by the time when it was first introduced on the
stage. “ To the inheritors of the English tongue” says
Furness (Preface, p. v), “ the potent sway of fairies on
Midsummer eve is familiar. The very title is in itself a
charm, and frames our minds to accept without question any
delusion of the night, and this it is which shields it from
criticism.” And he further remarks (Preface, p. viii), “ The
discrepancy noted by Dr. Johnson can be, I think, explained
by recalling the distinction, always in the main preserved
in England, between festivities and rites attending the
May day celebrations and those of the twenty-fourth of
June: the former were allotted to the day-time and the
latter to the night-time. As the wedding sports of Theseus,
with hounds and horns and interludes, were to take place
by daylight, May day was the fit time for them; as the
cross purposes of the lovers were to be made straight with
fairy charms during slumber, night was chosen for them,
and both day and night were woven together, and one
potent glamour floated over all in the shadowy realm of a
midsummer night’s dream ” In effect, therefore, Shake-
speare’s title meant no more than a dream which might be

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INTRODUCTION

\

dfeamt, or the shadowy events of which might pass, in any
night in the height of summer — “the middle summer 5 ’
(II. L 82). This, I think, is satisfactory enough for English
readers who are not enslaved to the idea that Shakespeare’s
ways of thinking are other than Shakespeare’s ways, and
who will gladly leave to the Germans their Sommer Nackfs
fraum and all the mass of irrelevant discussion thereon.
The English reader will continue to rejoice in his English
poet. “ Robin Goodfellow ” is enough for him. He will
leave to the Germans their very German “ Ruprecht ” and
vulgar “ Walpurgisnacht’s Traum ” ; and he will decline to
look at Shakespeare through the medium, as Furness would
put it, of fantastic German distortions.

- Nor need the duration of the action of the play cause
us any real concern. No doubt Shakespeare is emphatic
enough in his opening as to the four happy days which
will bring in another moon, and the four nights which will
quickly dream away the time: and whether he forgot his
initial outline and only assigned one night to the four days,
or leaves us to imagine them, or dream them, or intimates
them to us by “ swift fleeting allusions which induce the
belief almost insensibly that a new dawn has arisen,” seems
to me a matter of the smallest consequence. It is a matter
for the practical dramatist, who knows the wants of the
stage. We know that such dramatic workmanship is a
feature of many of Shakespeare’s plays ; eg. in the Merchant
of Venice three hours are the equivalent of three months,
and in Othello many days are compressed into something
like a day and a half. Such compression is a vital
dramatic necessity. As Furness aptly remarks (Preface, p.

, • xxxii) # ; There are allusions in the second; Act, Undeniably;

INTRODUCTION

xxi

to the near approach of a dawn, and again there are
allusions In the third Act, undeniably, to the near approach
of a dawn ; wherefore, since divisions into acts Indicate
progress in the action, or they are meaningless, I think we
are justified in considering these allusions, in different acts,
as referring to two separate dawns; that of Wednesday
and that of Thursday, the only ones we need before the
May-day horns are heard on Friday” In a word, the
cardinal fact to be remembered in this respect is, that
Shakespeare wrote for his audience and not for the reader
In the closet — for the imaginative spectator, and not for the
coldly-comprehensive critic or scholar. In fact, the whole
truth of the matter is concisely stated by Professor Hall
Griffin, quoted by Professor Dowden in the Introduction
(p. xxii) to his edition of Hamlet in the Arden Shakespeare :
“Shakespeare is at fault; he did not trouble himself to
reconcile , . . inconsistencies which practical experience as
an actor would tell him do not trouble the spectator” Or,
as Dowden himself still more concisely states it In the
Introduction (p. xxxi) to his edition of Romeo and Juliet ,
“ the dramatist knew that spectators in the theatre do
not regulate their imagination by a chronometer.” Mr.
P. A. Daniel's note on the duration of the action, taken
from the Transactions of the New Shakspere Society ,
1877-79, Part ii. p. 147, will be found In* the Appendix,
and may be found useful by or interesting to the curious
student

The primary, if not Indeed the one positive piece of
external evidence in connection with the date of com-
position of A Midsummer-Night s Dream is the well-known
reference by Francis Meres in his Palladis Tamia , , or Wits

xxii INTRODUCTION

Treasury (pv 282), registered in September 1598. It
runs : — a As Plautus and Seneca are accounted the best for
Comedy and Tragedy among the Latines , so Shakespeare
among the English is the most excellent in both kinds for
the stage : for Comedy, witness his Gentlemen of Verona, , his
Errors , his Love Labors lost \ his Love Labors wonne , his
Midsummers Night Dreame , and his Merchant of Venice ;
for Tragedy, his Richard the £, Richard the 8 > Henry the I h
King ]ohn> Titus Andronicus> and his Romeo and JulieC
That is the external evidence, implying as it does the
existence of the play in 1598 ; and it is simply a matter of
conjecture how long Meres may have composed his book
before it was registered, and how long before the book’s
composition the Midsummer-, Night s Dream had been written
and acted. It Is noteworthy, however, that the play stands
fifth in Meres’s list of comedies; and this fact affords, I
think, some slight Indication of Meres’s belief, knowledge,
or recollection that It was not amongst the very earliest of
Shakespeare’s plays. It Is also noteworthy that it stands
eighth in the list of comedies as printed in the First
Folio.

Let us see, then, how far the internal evidence of the
play itself enables us to form an opinion as to the date of
composition. There are certain lines and allusions which
furnish clues more or less satisfactory ; and the most
important of these will now be considered; the general
conclusions to be drawn from them being to justify the
belief that the play was composed in the autumn of
1 $94~9$» an< i was in all probability acted in the succeeding
month of January, if not earlier.

I . The first and most important allusion is contained in

INTRODUCTION

xxiii

II. L 81— II 7 > namely,' Titania^ description of the disastrous
effects on the weather caused by her quarrel with Oberon.
There are several contemporary descriptions of an exces-
sively wet and cold summer occurring in the year 1594.
Evidence of this kind- cannot, of course, be regarded as
conclusive ; but I think it certainly comes within the region
of lawful conjecture; and taken in conjunction with thg
other points and allusions occurring in the play, I think it
affords a reasonably strong presumption that the above
date cannot be far wrong. Titania’s description, which, in
its place, Is not particularly dramatic or requisite, would at
any rate have special point for audiences hearing the play
late in 1594 or early in 1595, and not likely to have for-
gotten the unseasonable weather of the previous summer ;
and this and the fact that the play is almost entirely con-
cerned with out-of-door existence are, I think, presumptions
in favour of the supposition that Shakespeare’s thoughts
were running on the “ distemperature ” of the previous
months, and that he adopted it as useful dramatic material ;
and this notwithstanding that there seems to be recorded
“a faire harvest ” in 1594. This latter, in any event, would
not strike men’s minds so forcibly or universally as the
“ distemperature ” of the seasons. The contemporary de-
scriptions are as follows : —

(a) Stowe’s Annals , 1594 (ed. 1631, pp. 766 sqq ) : “In
this moneth of March was many great stormes of wlnde
which ouerturned trees, steeples, barnes, houses, &c., namely
in Worcestershire, in Beaudley forrest many Oakes were
ouerturned. . . . The 1 1 of Aprill, a raine continued very
sore more than 24 houres long and withall, such a winde
from the north, as pearced the wals of houses, were they

XXIV

INTRODUCTION

netier so strong. ... In the moneth of May, namely, on
the second day, came downe great water flouds, by reason
of sodaine shoures of haiie and raine that had fallen, which
bare downe houses yron milles. . . . This yeere in the
moneth of May, fell many great shoures of raine, but in
the moneths of June and July, much more; for it com-
monly rained euerie day, or night, till S. lames day, and
two daies after togither most extreamly, all which, notwith-
standing in the moneth of August there followed a faire
haruest, but in the moneth of September fell great raines,
which raised high waters, such as staled the carriages, and
bare downe bridges, at Cambridge, Ware, and elsewhere, in
many places. Also the price of graine grewe to be such,
as a strike or bushell of Rie was sold for fiue shillings, a
bushel of wheat for sixe, seuen, or eight shillings, &c., for
still it rose in price, which dearth happened (after the
common opinion) more by meanes of ouermuch transporting,
by our owne merchants for their priuate gaine, than through
the vnseasonablenesse of the weather passed.”

( 6 ) The extracts printed by Strype (Ann. V. iv. p. 21 1)
from Dr. King's Lectures upon Ionas (preached at York in
1594, and published in 1618, and referring in the marginal
note to “the yeare of the Lord 1593 and 1594”): “The
moneths of the year haue not yet gone about, wherein the
Lord hath bowed the heauens, and come down amongst vs
with more tokens and earnests of his wrath intended, then
the agedst man of our land is able to recount of so small
a time. For say, if euer the windes, since they blew one
against the other, haue beene more common, and more
tempestuous, as if the foure endes of heauen had conspired
to turne the foundations of the earth vpside downe;

INTRODUCTION

XXV

thunders and lightnings neither seasonable for the time,
and withall most terrible, with such effects brought forth,
that the childe vnborne shall speake of it. The anger of
the clouds hath beene powred downe vpon our heads, both
with abundance and (sauing to those that felt it) with
incredible violence ; the aire threatned our miseries with a
blazing starre ; the pillars of the earth tottered in many*
whole countries and tracts of our Ilande ; the arrowes of a
woeful pestilence haue beene caste abroad at large in all
the quarters of our realme, euen to the emptying and dis-
peopling of some parts thereof”

(c) Dr. Simon Forman's observations on the year 1594
(in the Ashmolean MS. No. 3 84, quoted by Halliwell in his
Introduction to A Midsummer-Night s Dream , p. 6, ed.
1841): “ Ther was moch sicknes but lyttle death, moch
fruit and many plombs of all sorts this yeare and small
nuts, but fewe walnuts. This monethes of June and July
were very wet and wonderful! cold like winter, that the
10 dae of Julii many did syt by the fyer, yt was so
cold; and soe was yt in Maye and June; and scarce
too fair dais together all that tyme, but yt rayned every
day more or lesse. Yf yt did not raine, then was yt cold
and cloudye. Mani murders were done this quarter.
There were many gret fludes this sommer, and about
Michelraas, thorowe the abundaunce of raine that fell
sodeinly; the brige of Ware was broken downe, and at
Stratford Bowe, the water was never seen so byg as yt
was ; and in the lattere end of October, the waters
burste downe the bridg at Cambridge. In Barkshire
were many gret waters, wherewith was moch harm done
sodenly ”

f

xxvi INTRODUCTION

(d) Thomas Churchyard's Charitie , 15952

A colder time in world was neuer seene ;

The skies do lowre, the sun and moone waxe dim ;

Sommer scarce knowne but that the leaues are greene

The winter’s waste driues water ore the brim;

Upon the land great dotes of wood may swim.

Nature thinks scome to do hir dutie right

Because we haue displeasde the Lord of light.

Of course, evidence of this kind cannot be in any sense
conclusive, but it affords, I think, a striking example of
Shakespeare's skill and business ability in taking advantage,
for dramatic purposes, of current or contemporary events,
which must, at the time, have made a strong impression
on men's minds. For somewhat similar references we may
compare the “earthquake" in Romeo and Juliet y I. iii. 23;
and “these late eclipses" in King Lear , I. ii. 113; and
Craig's note thereon.

2. Amongst the “ revels ” or “ sports " proposed in the
“ brief" of Theseus's master of the revels, we have the well-
known lines in V. i 52, 53 :

The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceased in beggary.

I think there is here a clear allusion to Spenser’s Teares
of the Muses, published in 1591, and that the allusion is
skilfully adapted to refer to the death of Robert Greene,
which occurred in September 1592. The idea that it refers
to the death of Spenser himself, namely, in 1599, is obviously
quite inadmissible. I agree with Knight in thinking that
the “ expressions are too precise and limited to refer to the
tears of the Muses for the decay of knowledge and art"
Greene ” says Knight, " a man of learning " [he was

INTRODUCTION

XXV11

utriusque Academia in Artibus M agister , and “ For judge-
ment Jove, for learning deepe he still Apollo seemde" :
Greene's Funeralls , i 5 94], “ and one whom Shakespeare,
in the generosity of his nature, might wish to point at
kindly, died in 1592, in a condition that might truly be
called beggary. But how was his death, any more than
that of Spenser, to be the occasion of ‘ Some Satire keen^
and critical ’ ? Every student of our literary history will
remember the famous controversy of Nash and Gabriel
Harvey, which was begun by Harvey’s publication in 1592,
of 4 Foure Letters and certain Sonnets , especially touching
Robert Greene and other parties by him abused! Robert
Greene was dead; but Harvey came forward, in revenge
of an incautious attack of the unhappy poet, ‘ to satirize
him in his grave, to hold up his vices and misfortunes
to the public scorn. . . / e Truly I have been ashamed/
observed Harvey, c to hear some ascertayned reports of
hys most woefuil and rascall estate: how the wretched
fellow, or shall I say the Prince of beggars , laid all to gage
for some few shillings: ... and would pitifully beg a
penny pott of Malmesie: and could not gett any of his
old acquaintance to comfort, or visite him in his extremity
but Mistris Appleby, and the mother of Infortunatus.' ”
Halliwell thinks “ there is nothing in the consideration that
the poet had been attacked by Greene as the ‘upstart
crow' to render Knight's theory improbable. The allusion
was certainly not conceived in an unkind spirit; and the
death of one who at most was rather jealous than bitterly
inimical, under such afflicting circumstances, there can be no
doubt would have obliterated all traces of animosity from
a mind so generous as was that of Shakespeare/' Halli-

f

xxviii INTRODUCTION

well also agrees in the supposition that there is a reference
to Spenser’s poem. As to this, I think it is not too much
to assume that Shakespeare was, since his appearance in
London and the dedication of all his powers to the stage
and the drama, a keen student of contemporary literature.
He must have been well acquainted with Spenser’s poems.
Jt will not be forgotten that a couple of years after the publi-
cation of the Teares of the Muses appeared his Venus and
Adonis , which is written in the metre of the Teares . The
latter poem stands No. 2 in the volume of “ Complaints :
containing sundrie small poemes of the world's vanitie whereof
the next page maketk mention , by Ed: Sp: imprinted for
William Ponfonbie 1591.” It is dedicated “to the Right
Honorable the Lady Strange.” The poem No. 3 in the
volume is “ Virgil’s Gnat long since dedicated to the Most
Noble and Excellent Lord the Earle of Leicester late
deceased? The significance of the last words of this
dedication will appear when it is remembered that Leicester
died in 1588, the year of the Armada. If Spenser could
refer to him as “ late deceased ” three years after his death,
it is not a great stretch of probability to assume that
Shakespeare might reasonably, at the end of 1594, use
the exact words in reference to Greene’s death in September
1592. That event would be still fresh in the recollection
of the literary and theatrical world of London. Therefore
even on this ground alone, if on no other, we may fairly
say that A Midsummer-Night's Dream is to be referred
to the autumn or winter of 1594-95. The significance of
Spenser’s dedication of the Teares to Lady Strange will
also presently appear.

3. Judging from the frame of the play, and notably

INTRODUCTION

XXIX

from the opening lines and the last act, winding up as it
does with Puck's “ Epithalamium ” it is not improbable that
it was, at least eventually, intended for the celebration of
the marriage of some nobleman of Elizabeth's court; but
I rather incline to the belief that it was not so in the
first instance ; and that, marriage or no marriage, we should
have had A Midsummer- Night s Dream , though, perhaps,
not exactly in its present form. “ If," says Furness, “ a
noble marriage before 1598 can be found to which there
are unmistakeable allusions in the play, we shall go far
to confining the Date of Composition within narrow limits"
Various attempts have been made to discover the marriage
in question. The suggestion of Fleay is, in my opinion,
by far the most probable yet made. In his Life and Work
of Shakespeare (1886, p. 81), he says: “ January 26 was
the date of the marriage of William Stanley, Earl of Derby,
at Greenwich. Such events were usually celebrated with
the accompaniment of plays or interludes, masques written
specially for the occasion not having yet become fashion-
able. The company of players employed at these nuptials
would certainly be the Chamberlain's (i.e. the company to
which Shakespeare belonged), who had, so lately as the
year before (i.e. IS 94) been in the employ of the Earl's
brother Ferdinand. No play known to us is so fit for the
purpose as A Midsummer-Nights Dream y which in its present
form is certainly of this date. About the same time Edward
Russel, Earl of Bedford, married Lucy Harington. Both
marriages may have been enlivened by this performance.
. „ , The date of the play here given is again confirmed
by the description of the weather (in Ih L 81 sqqi). , . „
Chute's Cephalus and Proof is, was entered on the Stationer i

f

xxx INTRODUCTION

Registers , 28 Sept 1593; Marlowe's Hero and Leander ,
22nd October 1593; Marlowe and Nash’s Dido was
printed in 1594. All these stories are alluded to in the
play. The date of the Court performance must be in the
winter of 1 594-95.”

Marriage is the theme of the play. It is initiated
^ by the coming marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, and
it is wound up not only by their marriage, but by those
of the pairs of lovers. If Fleay's hypothesis be correct,
may not this have some slight reference to the double
wedding of 1594-95 ?

William Stanley was the younger brother of Ferdinand,
Lord Strange, and by the death of his father in September
1593, and of his brother Ferdinand in April 1594, he
became sixth Earl of Derby. Next year he married
Elizabeth Vere, daughter of the Earl of Oxford, and
Stowe, in his Annals , thus records the event:

“ The 26 of January William Earl of Derby married
the Earl of Oxford's daughter at the Court then at
Greenwich, which marriage feast was there most
royally kept.”

It may, therefore, with some reason be conjectured, but
only conjectured, that Elizabeth herself was present, and
that the royal ears listened to the graceful though some-
what irrelevant tribute to the “fair vestal throned by the
west” (11. i. 158). Inasmuch as the “marriage feast was
most royally kept,” in all likelihood one of the entertain-
ments was A Midsummer-Nights Dream . Again, on the
assumption that the play was performed at Greenwich
and at William Stanley’s wedding, it is not a further

INTRODUCTION

XXXI

stretch of probability to assume the presence of the
Dowager Countess of Derby, the widow of the late Earl,
who was Lady Strange at the date of the dedication to
her of Spenser’s poem in 1591 ; or, further, to assume that
the reference to “ the thrice three Muses ” may have been
intended as a compliment to her and the Stanley family.
We must never forget, however, that in these matters we
are forced, from the very circumstances, to deal with
probabilities and not with actual facts ; and it must also
be noted that Shakespeare’s company is not stated to
have played at Court on “the 26 of January” though
performances are recorded on the 5 th January and 22nd
February 1595. (See Fleay, Life and Work of Shake-
speare , 1866, pp. 126, 127.)

4. Another allusion is distinctly m favour of the autumn
of 1594. The reference in 1. ii, 77 and III. i. 31 to the
lion frightening the duchess and the ladies, is not Im-
probably a reminiscence of an incident which happened
at the Scottish Court at the baptism of Prince Henry,
the eldest son of James I., in August 1594. Malone
was the first to remark on “the odd coincidence,” as he
calls it He quotes a pamphlet which is reprinted in
Somers’s Tracts, ii. 179: “While the king and queen
were at dinner a chariot was drawn in by 4 a black-moore.
This chariot should have been drawne in by a lyon, but
because his presence might have brought some fears to the
nearest, or that the sights of the lights and the torches
might have commoved his tameness, it was thought meete
that the Moor should supply that room/ ”

Steevens, in his note to XL L 15, refers to the following
passage from the old anonymous comedy of The Wisdom

f

xxxii INTRODUCTION

of Doctor Dodypoll , the earliest known edition of which is
dated 1 600 :

! Twas I that led you through the painted meads,

When the light fairies danc’d upon the flowers,

Hanging on every leaf an orient pearl.

It is true that Nash, in his preface to Gabriel Harvey’s
Hunt is Up, 1596, mentions the name “doctor Dodypowle,”
but this is without any reference to the play, and the name
Dodipoll had long previously been in use for a blockhead.
H. Chichester Hart points out (Athenceum, 1888) that the
name occurs in Hickscorner, 1552:

What, Master Doctor Dotypoll,

Cannot you preach well in a black boll
Or dispute any divinity?

It seems to be represented by the modern slang word
“ dotty.” So that we can deduce no argument as to the
date from the reference by Steevens.

The arguments of Chalmers for assigning the date of
the play to the year 1598 may be found set out at length
in Furness’s New Variorum , p. 248 sqq. I shall not
attempt to introduce them here, as, in my opinion, they
have no real weight, and are weak and inconclusive. The
conjectures of Gerald Massey and of some of the German
critics (Tieck, Elze, Kurz, and others), which attempt to
fix an earlier or later date for the play, on the theory,
amongst others, that the occasion of the performance was
the marriage of Lord Essex with Lady Sidney In 1590,
or that of Lord Southampton with Elizabeth Vernon in
1598 — both secret marriages, by the way, and obnoxious
to the Queen’s displeasure — may also be found duly set

INTRODUCTION

XXXlll

out in Furness, p. 248 sqq. In my opinion, they may be
dismissed as not worth serious discussion,

A somewhat shrewd line of argument as to the date
has been adopted by Aldis Wright in his Introduction to
the Clarendon Press Edition, p. xi, where he says : “If
we attempt to arrange the plays which Meres attributes to
Shakespeare, so as to distribute them over the period from
1589 to 1598, we shall find two gaps, in either of which
we might conjecturally place the Midsummer-Night's
Dream. The interval from 1589 to 1591 is filled up by
Love's Labour's Lost, the Two Gentlemen of Verona,
Comedy of Errors, and Titus Andronicus. In 1593, 1594,
are placed Richard the Second, Richard the Third, King
John, and in these years appeared Venus and Adonis and
Lucrece. The Merchant of Venice is assigned to 1596,
and Henry the Fourth to 1597. Besides these there are
the three Parts of Henry the Sixth, which Meres does not
mention, but which, if Shakespeare's at all, must belong to
the earlier part of this period, and ‘ Loue Labours Wonne/
whatever this may have been. On the whole, I am dis-
posed to agree with Professor Dowden in regarding the
Two Gentlemen of Verona as earlier than the Midsummer-
Night's Dream, while I cannot think the latter was com-
posed after the plays assigned above to 1593, 1594, and
would therefore place it in the interval from 1591 to 1393,
when perhaps Romeo and Juliet may have been begun”
I see no reason /wjiabever to think that the historical plays
above mentioned, u f, those assigned to 1593, 1594, were
necessarily composed after the Midsummer-Night' $ Di-eam*
On the contrary, I am strongly of opinion that these his-
torical plays show clearly that Shakespeare was still more

;■ ' ' f

xxxiv INTRODUCTION

qt less — more, certainly, in Richard the Third — under the
influence of Marlowe ; and that in the Midsummer- Nights
Dream we have the earliest, purest, and most original
effort of his ozvn genius, finding its own high level, and
unswayed by the influence of any dramatic predecessor.
It is the dramatic complement of the poetic efforts of
1594 . Aldis Wright has, therefore, in my opinion,
mistaken his “gap.” The interval from 1594 to 1596
has, if we consider such evidence as has been pre-
viously adduced, every single argument of weight in its
favour.

Further, the evidence of style and composition is un~
mistakeable, and goes to show that the place of the play
must be amongst the early comedies, in all probability after
Love's Labour's Lost t the Two Gentlemen of Verona , and
The Errors . We have its blank verse of a somewhat
regular and monotonous kind. We have the symmetrical
grouping of the characters, characteristic of all the early
plays. We have the usual strained conceits, the antitheses,
and other rhetorical devices of Shakespeare’s early manner,
not to speak of certain artificial devices of construction,
indicating immature stage-craft, such as the devibe in the
first Act of leaving Lysander and Hermia alone on the stage
to arrange their flight from Athens. The play abounds with
rhyme, even when this is not necessary for lyrical expres-
sion. The characters, too, with the notable exception of
Bottom, are more or less sketches, and are far indeed from
being living exponents of Shakespeare’s knowledge of
human nature. The Cowden-Clarkes hereon well remark :
“ The internal evidence of the composition itself gives un-
mistakeable token of its having been written when the poet

INTRODUCTION

XXXV

was in his flush of youthful manhood. The classically
of the principal personages, Theseus and Hippolyta ; the
Grecian-named characters ; the prevalence of rhyme ; the
grace and whimsicality of the fairy-folk ; the rich warmth
of colouring that pervades the poetic diction ; the abund-
ance of description, rather than of plot, action, and character-
development, all mark the young dramatist.” With regard
to the date of composition, therefore, I think a fairly strong
case has been made out for the autumn or winter of
1594-95 ; and in this date most prominent Shakespearean
scholars agree : eg. Malone, Knight, Collier, Dyce, Keightley,
Halliwell, Marshall, Dowden, and Craig. We may be
satisfied to leave it at that, until the unlikely event of some
tangible piece of evidence arising which will tend to correct
this assumption.

It cannot be said that Shakespeare is indebted to any
single source for the plot of his Midsummer- Night s Dream.
Hints from many quarters of his reading, knowledge, and
experience seem to have been taken and welded into one
beautiful and harmonious poetic mass by the force of his
fancy and imagination. Some hints he took from (a)
Plutarch’s Lives , and from (b) Chaucer’s Knig/zies Tali ;
something from (<?) the story of Pyranms and Thisbe In
his favourite book, Golding’s translation of Ovid’s Meta-
morphoses ; perhaps a hint, perhaps not, from (d) Greene’s
History of James iv . ; mayhap a thought or two from (e)
Spenser’s Faerie Queene\ something from (/) ballad, tale, and
tradition regarding the fairy beings of English superstition
and folk-lore; and possibly the hint of the “ love-juice”
from (jf) Montemayor’s Diana (1579).

(a) The essential passages in Plutarch’s Lives which

XXXVI

INTRODUCTION

supplied Shakespeare with the allusions in II. i. 68-80 will
be found in the notes, p. 40.

(b) The Knightes Tale was probably the most famous
of Chaucer’s works^and the subject had been already
dramatised, namely, by Richard Edwards in his Palmmon
and Arcyte ) 1566. A Palamon and Arciie had also been
acted at the Rose Theatre in September 1594. (See
Fleay, Life and Work of Shakespeare , 1886.) But these
plays are not extant. A Midsummer-Night s Dream re-
sembles The Knightes Talem little more than that the scene
in both is laid at the court of Theseus. The characters are
entirely different “ There is little,” says Staunton, “ at all
in common between the two stories except the name of
Theseus, the representative of which appears in Shake-
speare simply as a prince who lived in times when the
introduction of ethereal beings, such as Oberon, Titania,
and Puck was in accordance with tradition and romance”
In fact, Shakespeare, the dramatist, even at this early stage
of his career, saw fit to reject as unsuitable for his play
material which Chaucer, the poet, found entirely suitable
for his tale. Such glimpses as Shakespeare may have
obtained of Chaucer’s characters or facts may be seen from
the passages printed in Appendix III. His Palamon and
Arcite, in their rivalry for the love of Emilie, may have
suggested the pairs of Athenian lovers and their compli-
cated rivalry in the play. It will not be forgotten, also,
that the name of Philostrate, Theseus’s “ Master of the
Revels” is the name Arcite assumes in' Chaucer’s Tale,
when he goes to Athens after his escape.

if) The story of Pyramus and Thlsbe is “ as old as the
hills and a great deal older”; but I think that for Shake-.

INTRODUCTION xxxvii

speare’s special authority we need look no further than
Golding's Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Book IV. p. 43, ed. 1567).
The story as Golding has versified it will be found in
Appendix IV. ; together with A Neiv Sonet of Pyramus
and Thisbe , by L Thomson, in Clement Robinson’s Hande -
full of Pleasant Delites ; and no doubt Shakespeare had
read this ballad as well.

(d) To Greene’s Historic of fames iv., written about
1590, Shakespeare is certainly not indebted in any par-
ticular that I can discover, hardly even for the name of
Oberon. Its full title runs : The Scottish Historic of
James iv n slaine at Flodden — Intermixed with a pleasant
Comedie , presented by Oboram {sic) King of Fay cries. This
“Histone” was printed in 1598. The story of Flodden
Field apparently has nothing to do with the drama, the
plot of which has no historical foundation ; and, so far as I
can discover, the “ intermixture with the pleasant Comedie ”
consists only of a prelude or chorus in which Oberon and the
“ angry Scot ” Bohan introduce the body of the play, and
of dances by certain “ antics,” “ jigs devised for the nonst ”
or “ rounds of fairies,” or “ some pretty dances ” between the
Acts. What all this has to do with A Midsummer-Nights
Dream one is at a loss to discover. Professor A. W. Ward,
however, thinks that “ the general idea of the machinery of
Oberon and his fairy court was in all probability taken by
Shakspere from Greene’s Scottish History of James IV.”
(See his English Dramatic Liter ature, vol. ii. p. 85, new
ed.) The reader may be left to form his own opinion.

( e ) Shakespeare, I think it will be agreed, took nothing
from Spenser. Reference hereon may be made to the
Faerie Queene % Book II. c. x, 631 sqq.

e

INTRODUCTION

(/) “ Shakespeare,” says Keightley, in a well-known
passage ( Fairy Mythology , ii. 127, ed. 1833), “seems to
have attempted a blending of the Elves of the village with
the Fays of romance. His fairies , agree with the former
in their diminutive stature, — diminished, indeed, to dimen-
sions inappreciable by village gossips, — in their fondness
for dancing, their love of cleanliness and in their child-
abstracting propensities. Like the Fays, they form a com-
munity, ruled over by the princely Oberon and the fair
Titania. There is a court and chivalry ; Oberon . . . like
earthly monarchs, has his jester, ‘ the shrewd and knavish
sprite, called Robin Goodfellow ’ ” (11. i. 33).

Shakespeare may have gained some hints for his char-
acter of the fairy king for the purposes of this play from
the old French courtly romance of Huon of Burdeaux \
|/translated by Lord Berners, circ. 1540, on which a play,
now lost, was founded, according to the record of that
“ thrifty but illiterate ” manager, Henslowe, in his Diary ,
where the play appears as “ kewen of burdokes ” and as
having been performed in “ desembr ” and “ Janewary
1593. The date of this is at any rate significant, as it
must have preceded the composition of A Midsummer -
jJSfights Dream . Keightley ( Fairy Mythology , ii. 6 note)

f shows clearly that the name is identical with that of the
dwarf Elberich (i.e. elf-king) in Wolfram von Eschenbach's
ballad of Otnit in the Heldenbuch . It cannot be said,
however, that there is more than an indirect resemblance
between the Oberon of the old courtly romance and Shake- ,

; speared 'fairy king. : If Shakespeare' took the name he took
- little save- perhaps the references" to , G heron's connec- U

Mr. S. Lee, in Ws-’Tnfrh^

INTRODUCTION

XXXIX

Duke Huon of Burdeaux (Early Eng. Text Socy. Pub.
Part i. p. 50), says : “ The Oberon of the great poet’s fairy-
comedy, although he Is set in a butterfly environment, still
possesses some features very similar to those of the romantic
fairy king. . . . The mediaeval fairy dwells in the East ; his
kingdom is situated somewhere to the east of Jerusalem,
in the far-reaching district that was known to mediaeval
writers under the generic name of India. Shakespeare’s
fairy Is similarly a foreigner to the western world. He is
totally unlike Puck, his lieutenant, * that merry wanderer of
the night ’ (II. i. 43), who springs from purely English super-
stition, and it is stated in the comedy that he has come to
Greece from the farthest steep of India.’ Titania, further,
tells her husband how the mother of her page-boy gossiped
at her side in their home 4 in the spiced Indian air, by
night’ (11. I. 124), And it will be remembered that an
Indian boy causes the jealousy of Oberon.” And, In my
opinion, one significant proof that Shakespeare had read the
old romance appears from his mention of the <£ fearful
wild-fowl” (See n. i. 232, of the griffin, and ill. I 33,
of the Hon, and the notes thereon.)

The name Titania can only be called the invention of
Shakespeare in so far as he has applied it to the Queen of
the Fairies. Its source is undoubtedly the Metamorphoses
of Ovid, which Shakespeare probably read, but more prob-
ably only referred to, in the original (see Metamorphoses ,
ill 173, “dumque ibi perluitur solita Titania lympha ” ;
where Titania is a name of Diana), as well as in his
' favourite 1 book, the ■ translation by Arthur Golding. “ It
must have struck him/* says Baynes, Shakespeare Studies
(p. 210, ed. 1894), ££ in reading the text of the Metamor -

xl

INTRODUCTION

phases , as it is not to be found in the only translation which
existed in his day. Golding, instead of transferring the
name Titania, always translates it in the case of Diana by
the phrase Titan’s daughter. . . . Shakespeare could not,
therefore, have been indebted to Golding for the happy
selection. On the other hand, in the next translation of
the Metamorphoses by Sandys, first published ten years
after Shakespeare’s death, Titania is freely used. ... It is
clear, therefore, I think, that Shakespeare not only studied
the Metamorphoses in the original, but that he read the
different stories with a quick and open eye for any name,
incident, or allusion that might be available for use in his
own dramatic labours.” Keightley, to whom we are already
indebted, thus explains the origin of the name ( Fairy
Mythology ,il 127): “It was the belief of those days that
the fairies were the same as the classic Nymphs, the attend-
ants of Diana; c that fourth kind of spiritis,’ says King
James, * quhilk be the gen this was called Diana, and her
wandering Court, and amongs us called the Phairiel The
Fairy Queen was therefore the same as Diana, whom Ovid
{Metamorphoses , iii. 173) styles Titania” But If Shake-
speare gleaned the name from the Metamorphoses , he took
little else. “ His queen,” says Chambers, “ is a very
different being from the classic Diana. She has no single
characteristic of the goddess. She is an innocent, im-
pulsive, childlike fay ; she is the embodiment of feminine
daintiness and delicacy ; and all about her is imagined with
an exquisite instinct for the elemental life of flower and
. insect and all the dainty and delicate things of nature ” '

The word Puck, as denoting “that shrewd and knavish
sprite, called Robin Goodfellow w (11 . 1 3 3),ds, strictly speak-

INTRODUCTION xli

mg, an appellation and not a person, being merely an old
word meaning devil ; and even In the play we find him say-
ing, “ as I am an honest Puck” and “ else the Puck a liar
call ” (v. L 438 and 442), The name was known in England
probably as early as the twelfth or thirteenth century. See
the Vision of Piers Ploughman , 11345 (ed. Wright),

Out of the poukes pondfold
No mayn prise may us fecche;

and the “ Romance of Richard Coer de Lion,” 4236 (In
Weber’s Metrical Romances , vol. ii., “ He is no man, he is a
pouke ” ; both extracts quoted in Wright’s Introduction to
the Midsummer-Night' s Dream , Clar. Press ed., p. xvi).
The Icelandic puki, the Devonshire pixy , the Worcestershire
poake ( poake-ledden), the Dutch spook, are all variations of
the same word.

Keightley apparently was of opinion that Shakespeare
was the first to confound Puck with the English house-
spirit, Robin Goodfellow ; “ but it is evident,” says Knight,
“ that in popular belief the same mischief-loving qualities
which belong to Puck were attributed to Robin Goodfellow
long before the time of Shakespeare” In my opinion it is
nearer the mark to say, not that he was the first to con-
found the two, but that he was the first to crystallise the
floating popular belief, and to stamp it on English poetry
for all time.

Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft , first published
in 1584, ought, perhaps, apart from popular tradition at
least, to be considered as Shakespeare’s chief source of
information as to, Robin Goodfellow’s qualities. Scot,
'speaking of the birth of Merlin, says (4 Booke, c. x.
p, 67, ed. Nicholson); w I hope you understand that they

xlii

INTRODUCTION

affirme and sale, that Incubus is a spirit ; and I trust you
know that a spirit hath no flesh nor bones, &c. ; and that
he neither dooth eate nor drinke. In deede your grandames
maides were woont to set a boll of milke before him and
his cousine Robin good-fellow, for grinding of malt or
mustard, and sweeping the house at midnight; and you
haue also heard that he would chafe exceedingly, if the
maid or good-wife of the house, hauing compassion of his
nakedness, laid anie clothes for him, beesides his messe of
white bread and milke, which was his standing fee. For in
that case he saith : 4 What have we here ? Hemton hamten,
here will I neuer more tread nor stampen.’ ” Again, Scot
says (7 Rooke, c. xv. p. 122): “ It is a common saieng;
A lion feareth no bugs. But in our childhood our mothers
maids haue so terrified vs with an ouglie divell hauing
homes on his head, filer in his mouth . . . eies like a bason,
fanges like a dog, clawes like a beare, a skin like a Niger,
and a voice roring like a lion, whereby we start and are
afraid when we heare one crie Bough ; and they have so
fraied us with bull beggers, spirits, witches, urchens, elves,
hags, fairies, satyrs, pans, faunes, sylens, kit with the
cansticke, tritons, centaurs, dwarfes, giants, imps, calcars,
conjurors, nymphes, changlings, Incubus , Robin good-
fellowe, the spoorne, the mare, the man in the Oke, the hell
waine, the fierdrake, the puckle, Tom thombe, hobgoblin,
Tom tumbler, boneles, and such other bugs, that we are
afraid of our owne shadowes ; in so much as some never
feare the divell, but in a darke night ; and then a polled
ajieepe is, a perillous beast, and manie times is taken for our
fathers soule, speciallie in a churchyard, where a right hardie
man heretofore scant durst passe by night, but his haire

INTRODUCTION

xliii

would stand upright” So also (7 Booke, c. ii. p. 105):
“ And know you this by the waie, that heretofore Robin
good fellow and Hob gobblin were as terrible, and also
as credible to the people, as hags and witches be now ; and
in time to come, a witch will be as much derided and con-
temned, and as plainlie perceived, as the illusion and
knaverie of Robin goodfellow, And in truth, they that
mainteine walking spirits, with their transformation, &c.,
have no reason to denie Robin goodfellow, upon whom there
hath gone as manie and as credible tales, as upon witches ;
saving that it hath not pleased the translators of the Bible
to call spirits by the name of Robin goodfellow, as they
have termed divinors, soothsaiers, poisoners, and couseners
by the name of witches ”

Halliwell, in his Memoranda on The Midsummer-Night's
Dream, 1879, notes that Tarlton, in his Newes out of
Pmgatorie , 1589, says of Robin Goodfellow that he was
“ famozed in everie old wives chronicle, for his mad merrye
prankes ” ; and further notes, “ Nash, in his Terrors of the
Night , 1 5 94, observes that the Robin Goodfellowes, elfes,
fairies, hobgoblins of our latter age, did most of their
merry pranks in the night; then ground they malt, and
had hempen shirts for their labours, daunst in greene
meadows, pincht maids in their sleep that swept not their
houses cleane, and led poor travellers out of their way
notoriously” ,

(g) Shakespeare was apparently the first to connect
with fairy-lore the juice with which Oberon ordered Puck to
anoint the eyes of Titania and the Athenian lovers. He
may have got the suggestion from the Diana of Monte-
mayor, since the Two Gentlemen of Verona, a play which

xliv INTRODUCTION

undoubtedly preceded A Midsummer- Nighi s Dream , shows
him to have been acquainted with it. “ I have toiled/’ says
Furness (p. 283), “ through the four hundred and ninety-six
weary, dreary falsetto folio pages of Montemayor’s Diana
without finding any conceivable suggestion for the fairy
story other than that of the love-juice” (ill. ii. 37). Yong’s
English translation of the Diana was not published till
1598; but according to the preface it was written sixteen
years before ; and Shakespeare may therefore have seen it
in MS., or, as is much more probable, have gathered the
incident indirectly from another quarter. In the tale a
charm is used to transfer the affections of one shepherd
“ inimitably in love ” from one object to another, just as the
affections of Lysander and Demetrius are transferred in the
play. But surely we need not be driven to gather our
simples from the Diana . The idea of a love philtre or
distillation from herbs or flowers for this purpose is surely
common enough in classical and mediaeval literature.

By an easy transition we pass from the “love-juice”
to the well-known passage in the second Act of the play
in which Shakespeare introduces its source, “the little
western flower”

This famous passage, the speech of Oberon to Puck
(II. L 148-168), has given rise to much speculation and
conjecture; and many attempts have been made to inter-
pret it as an allegory. Rowe apparently was the first to
point out that some kind of allegory was intended; and,
according to him, it amounted to no more than a graceful
compliment to Queen Elizabeth. He says (Life, p. 8):
“ Queen Elizabeth had several of the plays acted before her,
and without doubt gave him many gracious marks of her

INTRODUCTION xlv

favour. It is that maiden Princess, plainly, whom he in-,
tends by a 1 fair vestal throned by the west * ; and that
whole passage is a compliment very properly brought in
and very handsomely apply'd to her.”

Warburton’s interpretation takes the point of view of a
political allegory. “ By the vestal,” he says, “ every one
knows is meant Queen Elizabeth. It is very natural and
reasonable then to think that the Mermaid stands for some
eminent person of her time ... of whom it had been in-
convenient for the author to speak openly, either in praise
or dispraise. All this agrees with Mary Queen of Scots
and no other. Queen Elizabeth could not bear to hear her
commended ; and her successor would not forgive her
satirist . • . She is called a Mermaid — (i) to denote her
reign over a kingdom situate in the sea, and (2) her beauty
and intemperate lust, ‘ ut turpiter atrum Desinat in piseem
mulier formosa superne/ for as Elizabeth, for her chastity, is
called a Vestal^ this unfortunate lady, on a contrary account,
is called a Mermaid. . . • * On a dolphin's back J evidently
marks out that distinguishing circumstance of Mary's
fortune, her marriage with the Dauphin of France, son of
Henry II. e Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath*
alludes to her great abilities of genius and learning which
rendered her the most accomplished Princess of her age.

, . * < That the rude sea grew civil at her song’: ..By rude
sea Is meant Scotland encircled with the ocean; which rose
up in arms against the Regent, while she was in France.
But her return home presently quieted these .disorders.

* And certain stars shot madly from their spheres * : by
which he meant the Earls of Northumberland and West-
moreland, who fell in her quarrel; and principally the 'great

xlvi

INTRODUCTION

Duke of Norfolk, whose projected marriage with her was
attended with such fatal consequences.”

Warburton’s allegorical interpretation seems to have
been accepted by Johnson and Capell ; while, on the other
hand, Steevens could not dissemble his doubts concerning it
“ Is it probable,” he asks, " that Shakespeare (who under-
stood his own political as well as poetical interest) should
have ventured such a panegyric on this ill-fated Princess,
during the reign of her rival Elizabeth? If it was unin-
telligible to his audience, it was thrown away ; if obvious,
there was a danger of offence to her majesty.”

Ritson was excessively severe in his comments on what
he calls Warburton’s “ chimerical allegory of which the poet
himself had no idea, and which the commentator, to whose
creative fancy it owes its existence, seems to have veiy
justly characterised in telling us it is "out of nature’;
that is, as I conceive, perfectly groundless and unnatural.”

Roaden (On the Sonnets , 1837, p. 18) thought it not at
all improbable that the groundwork of Oberon’s description
was the pageant of “ The Princelie Pleasures at Kenilworth
Castle ” which the Earl of Leicester devised for the Queen’s
entertainment in 1575 ; and that Shakespeare, who was
then eleven years of age, might have been a spectator.
“ His description,” says Boaden, “ is exactly such as, after
17” [rather 19] “ years had elapsed, a reminiscence would
suggest to a mind highly poetical.”

The Rev. N. J. Hatpin in his Oberon’s Vision, 1843,
printed by the Shakespeare Society, follows Boaden in
identifying the scene of Oberon’s vision with that of the
“ Princelie Pleasures ” and pushes the allegory, if allegory
there be, to the utmost limit of refinement, and with the

INTRODUCTION

xivii

utmost fulness of detail. With regard to the princely
pleasures, Halpin relies for his interpretation on the colla-
tion of three contemporary authorities which the curious
reader may further consult at his pleasure, namely,
Laneham’s Letter : whearin Part of the Entertainment
untoo the Queens Majesty , at Killingworth Castle in
Warwick Sheer , in this Soommerz Progrest 1575, is
signified; Gascoigne’s Princely Pleasures , with the Masque
intended to have been presented before Quee?i Elisabeth at
Kenilworth Castle; and Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwick-
shire , Halpin considers that these authorities afford suf-
ficient evidence “ to identify the time and place of Oberon’s
Vision with the Princely Pleasures of Kenilworth and
comparing “ the poetical allegory (in juxtaposition) with
a simple paraphrase of the literal meaning which has been
assigned to it,” he finds — putting it shortly — -that the
“ promontory ” on which Gberon sat was a rising ground
or bray — probably “ the Brayz ” mentioned by Laneham
as “ linking a fair park with the Castle on the South” —
that “ Cupid all armed flying between the cold moon and
the earth” refers to the Earl of Leicester, in the magni-
ficence of his preparations for storming the heart of his
royal mistress, wavering in his passion between (Cynthia
or) Queen Elizabeth and (Tellus or) the Lady Douglas,
Countess of Sheffield. The “ certain aim at the fair vestal
throned by the west” is the well-directed effort for the
hand of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. The quenching of
the fiery shaft means that Leicester’s desperate venture
was lost in the pride, prudery, and jealousy of power
which invariably swayed the tide of Elizabeth’s passions;
and the Virgin Queen departed from Kenilworth Castle

xlviii INTRODUCTION

unshackled with a matrimonial engagement, and as heart-
whole as ever. The remainder of the allegory he con-
strues as follows : the “ little western flower ” is Lettice,
the wife of Walter, Earl of Essex, formerly pure and
innocent, but afterwards inflamed with a criminal passion
for Leicester, and the subject of shame and obloquy.

This interpretation of Halpin’s is certainly character-
ised by the most remarkable skill and ingenuity ; but one
great difficulty in accepting it is the necessity for recog-
nising the blending of allegory and fact, to which latter
we immediately descend on hearing Oberon’s command,
“ Fetch me that flower ” : unless, indeed, we are to imagine
some subtle Ovidian metamorphosis of the Countess Lettice
into a veritable little flower of the west. This is admirably
expressed in the quotation which follows.

Hunter {New Illustrations , 1845, i. 291) adheres to the
allegorical interpretation of Warburton, at least as to the
Mermaid representing the Queen of Scots ; and he further
remarks : “ At the very time when at the sea maid’s music
certain stars shot from their spheres, the strong dart aimed
by Cupid against Elizabeth fell innocuous ; and she passed
on ( In maiden meditation fancy - free.’ The allegory
ends here, according to all just rule, when the flower is
introduced. This flower was a real flower, about to
perform a conspicuous part in the drama, and the allegory
is written expressly to give a dignity to the flower ; it is
the splendour of preparation intended to fix attention on
the flower, whose peculiar virtues were to be the means
of effecting some of the most important purposes of
the drama. The passage resembles, in this respect, one
a little before, in which there is an interest given to

INTRODUCTION xlix

the little henchman by the recital of the gambols df
Titania with his mother on the sea-shore of India, and
the interest thrown around Othello’s handkerchief. The
allegory has been complete, and has fulfilled its purpose
when we come to the flower, which, in the hands of the
poet, undergoes a beautiful metamorphose, and has now
acquired all the interest which it was desirable to give
it, and poetically and dramatically necessary, considering
the very important part which was afterwards to be per-
formed by it”

Except, perhaps, in respect of the one distinct creation
— Bottom — there is no great effort on Shakespeare’s part
at the delineation of “ character ” in this play. The types
of the (C human mortals ” are already familiar to us in the
plays antecedent to the Dream ; and Theseus, so far from
being Shakespeare’s “ early ideal of a heroic warrior and
man of action ” (Dowden), is, in my opinion, drawn, and
purposely drawn, in the barest outline — just sufficient to
furnish a frame for the picture in which the fairies are the
protagonists.

A remarkable article in the Edinburgh Review for
April 1848, referring to the old division of the characters
into three parties or groups, namely, the heroes (Including
the lovers), the fairies, and the artisans, advances the hypo-
thesis that the fairies are the primary conception of the
piece, and their action the main or dominant action. The
article so fully expresses my own views on the point, that
I am induced to quote it at some length. “ The first of
these ” [ie« parties or groups] “ consists of the heroes, Theseus
and his very unhistorica! court These are themselves
fanciful and unsubstantial; not, indeed, creatures of the
' ’ d

1

INTRODUCTION

elements, yet scarcely the men and women of flesh and
blood with whom Shakespeare has elsewhere peopled his
living stage. We cannot but suspect there is a meaning
in their mythological origin. Shakespeare has neither
drawn them from history, his resource when he wished
to paint the broader realities of life, nor from the lights
and shadows, the gay gallantry and devoted love, of the
Italian novel. They are apparently selected purely for
their want of association. Their humanity is of the most
delicately refined order; their perplexities the turbulence
of still life. Moreover, the ’components of the group,
the pairs of Athenian lovers, seem only to be so distri-
buted in order to be confused. There are no distinctive
features in their members. Lysander differs in nothing
from Demetrius, Helena in nothing but height from
Hermia. Finally, they speak a great deal of poetry, and
poetry more exquisite never dropped from human pen;
but it is purely objective, and not in the slightest degree
modified by the character of the particular speaker. Turn
we now to the second group. If the first were as far as
possible removed from everyday experience, these are types
of a class ever ready to our hand. They are of the earth,
earthy. Bottom sat at a Stratford loom, Starveling on
a Stratford tailoring'board ; between them they perhaps
made the doublet which captivated the eyes of Richard
Hathaway's daughter, or the hose that were torn in the
park of the Lucys. If the former personages were all
of one coinage, the characters of the latter are stamped
with curious marks of difference. The TroXvTrpayfAocrvm) of
Bottom, thfe discretion of Snug, the fickleness of Starveling
are (as Hazlitt has shown) minutely and fancifully dis~

INTRODUCTION

li

criminated. And most strongly, too, is the homely
idiomatic prose of their dialogue contrasted with the
blinding brilliancy of those rhymed verses which speak
the eternal language of love by the mouths of the Athenian
ladies and their lovers. . In short, they are the very counter-
part of the former group ; and it is this that we wish to
establish : an intentional antagonism between the two.
They seem to us, in their respective delicacy and coarse-
ness, to mark the two extreme phases of life, the highest
and the lowest, as presented to the imaginative faculty;
the lowest, as it may be seen by experience, — the highest,
as it may be conceived of in dreams.

“ In Act ii. we are presented for the first time with
a new creation, that of the Fairies. Henceforward, the
first two actions, so remarkably separated in Act I.,
are gradually interwoven with the third, though nowhere
with each other. In the beings of whom this third group
is composed, nothing is so characteristic as the humanity
of their motives and passions — humanity modified by
the peculiarities of the fairy race — such as might be
expected in a duodecimo edition of mankind. We find
working in them splenetic jealousy, love, hatred, revenge,
all the passions of men,— the littlenesses of soul brought out
by each, being, as we think, designedly exaggerated. Their
movements, too, are eminently significant of. a vigorous
dramatic action, the story being almost epical in form, —
the tale of the fiijvw 'Hfiepcovos ; of which, as it gradually
and uniformally advances, we are enabled to trace in the
play the origin, development, and consequences. The
hypothesis, then, which we wish to put forward is, that
the fairies are the primary conception of the piece, and

INTRODUCTION

HI

their action the main action ; that Shakespeare wished
to represent this fanciful creation in contact with two
strongly marked extremes of human nature; the instru-
ments by which they influence them being, aptly enough,
in one case the ass’s head, in the. other the ‘ little western
flower.’

“ It is necessary to this idea that the two actions of
the heroes and the artisans should be considered com-
pletely subordinate, and their separate relations among
themselves as not having been created relatively to the
whole piece, but principally to the intended action of the
fairies upon them. We shall then have the singular
arrangement of the first Act purposely designed to exhibit
successively the characteristics of the two groups in marked
opposition, before exposing them to the influence of the
fairies. Finally, the interlude of Pyramus and Thisbe
is the ingenious machinery by which, after the stage
has ceased to be occupied by the fairy action, these two
otherwise independent groups are wrought together and
amalgamated.

u Some difficulty may yet present itself as to the form
of the piece, furnished as it were with a preface and sup-
plement ; but we think this can be satisfactorily accounted
for. , . . The Midsummer- Night s Dream is a dream on
the night of Midsummer Day; a night sanctified to the
operations of fairies, as Hallowe’en was to those of witches.
The play is distributed into three distinguishable portions,
those included in Act L— In Acts II., HI., and the first
scene of Act iv,— and in the last scene of Act iv, together
with Act V. The second, and by far the most important
division, comprehends all the transactions of the MM-

INTRODUCTION liii

summer • Night ; — its action is carefully restricted to the
duration of these twelve witching hours (Oberon having,
as he says, to perform all before 4 the first cock crow ’), while
those of the first and third portions take place at distances
of two days and one day respectively. Here, then, we have
a stringent reason for Shakespeare’s arrangement. He
could not introduce us to the two subordinate groups,
show us their isolated relations, and in the end interweave
them by a consistent process, without separating them,
when operating per se, from the main action. He could,
for instance, neither account for the appearance of the
lovers in the wood without a previous exposition of their
difficulties, and of the agreement to fly on the £ morrow
deep midnight/ nor for that of the stage-struck artisans,
without some intimation of the intention to act a play,
which made a rehearsal necessary. He could not follow
his usual practice of developing together the relations and
position of all his characters, because the limitation to
twelve hours would not admit it — and out of these twelve
hours he could not remove the fairy action. So that the
first and last sections of the drama, in which the main
action does not proceed and only the subordinate groups
appear, have nothing to do with the Midsmnmer-Nighf s
Dream, but are merely exegetical of it

“ There are some minor indications of the truth of our
theory. The very title, for instance, solely applicable as it
is to that part of the drama in which the fairies appear,
seems not a Tittle significant » *■/■.*■ Nor is the distribution
of blank and rhymed verse unobservable. . . , We have
occasionally 1 fancied that, where, the objectively poetical
element prevails, the dialogue is mostly written in rhyme ;

liv

INTRODUCTION

where the dramatic, in the ordinary blank verse of Shake-
speare. Both heroes and fairies speak in blank and rhymed
verse, but not indifferently. The relations of the subordin-
ate group are generally, though not invariably, conveyed
through the imaginative rhymed fines, while the fairies —
the dramatic personages — rarely quit the vigorous versifica-
tion we are so well accustomed to.

“ We are desirous that the fairies should assume in this
play a position commensurate with the influence they must
always exercise over English literature. Great as is the
importance of combined purity and beauty in a national
mythology, the indirect value is even greater. We have
escaped much, as well as gained much, if our imagination
has conversed with a more delicate creation than the sensu-
ous divinities of Greece or the vulgar spectres of the WaJ-
purgis-Nacht. But whether the entente cordiale between
England and Fairy-land be for good or for evil, we must at
any rate acknowledge that the connection virtually began on
that very Midsummer Night which witnessed the quarrel
between Oberon and Titania ”

Critical and “ aesthetic ” appreciations of the play have
been numerous, and, on the whole, satisfactory ; and there-
fore I do not propose to attempt to add anything in this
behalf which might be styled “ original,” but rather to
quote, as briefly as possible, some of the more distinguished
passages from well-known critics of the nineteenth century,
Hazlitt, in his Characters of Shakespeare's Plays , 1 8 1 7,
says ; c< Puck is the leader of the fairy band. He is the
■ Ariel of the Midsummer-Nights Dream ; and yet as' unlike
Ariel of The No mother ^pqet’ :

could have made two such different characters out of the

INTRODUCTION Iv

same fanciful materials and situations. Ariel is a minister
of retribution, who is touched with a sense of pity at the
woes he inflicts. Puck is a madcap sprite, full of wanton-
ness and mischief, who laughs at those whom he misleads
— 4 Lord, what fools these mortals be ! ’ Ariel cleaves the
air, and executes his mission with the zeal of a winged
messenger; Puck is borne along on his fairy errand like
the light and glimmering gossamer before the breeze. He
is, indeed, a most epicurean little gentleman, dealing in
quaint devices, and faring in dainty delights. Prospero
and his world of spirits are a set of moralists ; but with
Oberon and his fairies we are launched at once into the
empire of the butterflies. How beautifully is this race of
beings contrasted with the men and women actors in the
scene, by a single epithet which Titania gives to the latter,
1 the human mortals * ! JJ And again : “ In the Midsummer -
Night's Dream alone we should imagine there is more
sweetness and beauty of description than in the whole range
of French poetry put together. What we mean is this,
that we will produce out of that single play ten passages,
to which we do not think any ten passages in the works of
the French poets can be opposed, displaying equal fancy
and imagery. Shall we mention the remonstrance of
Helena to Hermia, or Titania’s description of her fairy
train, or her disputes with Oberon about the Indian boy, or
Puck’s account of himself and his employments, or the
Fairy Queen’s exhortation to the elves to pay due attend*
ance upon her favourite, Bottom ; or Hippolyta’s descrip-
tion of a chase, or Theseus’s answer ? The two last are as
heroical and spirited as the others are full of luscious tender-
ness.' ; The reading of this play is like wandering in a

INTRODUCTION

Ivi

grove by moonlight; the descriptions breathe a sweetness
like odours thrown upon beds of flowers”

Hallam, in his Literature of Europe , 1839, (vol. it
p. 387), remarks: “ This beautiful play evidently belongs
to the earlier period of Shakespeare’s genius ; poetical as
we account it, more than dramatic, yet rather so, because
the indescribable profusion of imaginative poetry in this
play overpowers our senses till we can hardly observe any-
thing else, than from any deficiency of dramatic excellence.
For in reality the structure of this fable, consisting as it
does of three, if not four actions, very distinct in their sub-
jects and personages, yet wrought into each other without
effort or confusion, displays the skill, or rather instinctive
felicity, of Shakespeare, as much as in any play he has
written. . . . The Midsummer-Nigh? $ Dream is, I believe,
altogether original in one of the most beautiful conceptions
that ever visited the mind of a poet, the fairy machinery.
A few before him had dealt in a vulgar and clumsy manner
with popular superstition ; but the sportive, beneficent,
invisible population of the air and earth, long since estab-
lished in the creed of childhood and of those simple as
children, had never for a moment been blended with
* human mortals 3 among the personages of the drama. . . .
The language of Midsummer-Nights Dream is equally
novel with the machinery. It sparkles in perpetual bright-
ness with all the hues of the rainbow ; yet there is nothing
overcharged or affectedly ornamented. Perhaps no play of
Shakespeare has fewer blemishes, or is from beginning to
end in so perfect keeping ; none in which so few lines could
^■erased,. or so few expressions , blamed His own 'peculiar
idiom, the dress of his mind, which began to be discernible

INTRODUCTION Ivii

in the Two Gentlemen of Verona , is more frequently mani-
fested in the present play. The expression is seldom
obscure, but it is never in poetry, and hardly in prose, the
expression of other dramatists, and far less of the people”
Knight, in his Supplementary Notice , 1840, says: “ We
can conceive that with scarcely what can be called a model
before him, Shakespeare’s early dramatic attempts must
have been a series of experiments to establish a standard
by which he could regulate what he addressed to a mixed
audience. The plays of his middle and mature life, with
scarcely an exception, are acting plays ; and they are so,
not from the absence of the higher poetry, but from the
predominance of character and passion in association with
it But even in those plays which call for a considerable
exercise of the unassisted imaginative faculty in an audi-
ence, such as The Tempest and A M idsmmner- Night s
Dream , where the passions are not powerfully roused and the
senses are not held enchained by the interests of the plot,
he is still essentially dramatic. ... To offer an analysis
of this subtle and ethereal drama would, we believe, be as
unsatisfactory as the attempts to associate it with the
realities of the stage. With scarcely an exception, the
proper understanding of the other plays of Shakespeare
may be assisted by connecting the apparently separate
parts of the action, and by developing and reconciling
what seems obscure and anomalous in the features of the
characters. But to follow out the caprices and illusions of
the loves of Demetrius and Lysander, of Helena and Hermia ;
to reduce to prosaic description the consequence of the
jealousies of Oberon and Titania ; to trace the Fairy Queen
under the most fantastic of deceptions, . * . and finally to

r

r Iviii INTRODUCTION

go along with the scene till the illusions disappear, . . ,
such an attempt as this would be worse than unreverential
criticism.”

De Quincey, in his biography of Shakespeare ( Works,
vol. xv. p. i, edition of 1863), says: “ In the Midsummer-
Nights Dream , again, we have the old traditional fairy, a
lovely mode of preternatural life, rempdified by Shake-
speare’s eternal talisman. Oberon and Titania remind us
at first glance of Ariel ; they approach, but how far they
recede : they are like — ‘ like, but oh, how different ! ’ And
in no other exhibition of this dreamy population of the
moonlight forests and forest-lawns are the circumstantial
proprieties of fairy life so exquisitely imagined, sustained,
or expressed. The dialogue between Oberon and Titania
is, of itself, and taken separately from its connection, one
of the most delightful poetic scenes that literature affords ”

F. J. Furnivall, in his Introduction to the “ Leopold ”
Shakspere, 1877, says: “ Here at length we have Shak-
spere’s genius in the full glow of fancy and delightful fun.
The play is an enormous advance on what has gone before.
But It is a poem, a dream, rather than a play; its freakish
fancy of fairy-land fitting it for the choicest chamber of
the student’s brain, while its second part, the broadest
farce, is just the thing for the public stage. , . . And
certainly anything must be possible to the man who could
in one work range from the height of Titania to the depth
of Bottom. . . . Though the story is Greek, yet the play
is full of English life. It is Stratford which has given
-^^-/.^-Sh^spere^the' picture of the /sweet country

working at one flower, warbling one song, growing together
like a double cherry, seeming parted, but yet a union In

INTRODUCTION

lix

partition. It is Stratford that has given him the picture of
the hounds with < ears that sweep away the morning dew.’
It Is Stratford that has given him his outdoor woodland
life, his clowns 1 play, and the clowns themselves, Bottom,
with his inimitable conceit, and his fellows. Snug and
Quince, etc. It is Stratford that has given him all Puck’s
fairy-lore, the cowslip’s tale, the red - hipt bumble-bee,
Gberon’s bank, the pansy love-in-idleness, and all the lovely
imagery of the play. But wonderful as is the mixture oi
delicate and aerial fancy with the coarsest and broadest
comedy, clearly as it evidences the coming of a new being
on this earth to whom anything Is possible, it is yet clear
that the play is quite young. The undignified quarrelling
of the ladies, Hermia with her 4 painted May-pole/ her
threat to scratch Helena’s eyes, — Helena with her retorts,
4 She was a vixen when she went to school/ etc., — the
comical comparison of the moon tumbling through the
earth (in.il 52), incongruously put into an accusation of
murder, the descent to bathos In Shakspere’s passage
about his own art, from 4 the poet’s eye in a fine frenzy
rolling J to 4 how easy is a bush supposed a bear/ would
have been impossible to Shakspere in his later develope-
ment”

“ A Midsummer-Nights Dream ” says Professor Dowden
(Primer } p. 70), “ Is a strange and beautiful web, woven
delicately by a youthful poet’s fancy. What is perhaps
most' remarkable about the play is the harmonious blending
in it of widely different elements. It is as if threads of
silken splendour were run together in its texture with a
yarn of hempen homespun, and both these with lines of
dewy gossamer and filaments drawn from ■ the moonbeams.

lx

INTRODUCTION

... As the two extremes of exquisite delicacy, of dainty
elegance, and, on the other hand, of thick-witted grossness
and clumsiness, stand the fairy tribe and the group of
Athenian handicraftsmen. The world of the poet’s dream
includes the two — a Titania, and a Bottom the weaver —
and can bring them into grotesque conjunction. No such
fairy poetry existed anywhere in English literature before
Shakspere. The tiny elves, to whom a cowslip is tall, for
whom the third part of a minute is an important division of
time, have a miniature perfection which is charming. They
delight in all beautiful and dainty things, and war with
things that creep and things that fly, if they be uncomely ;
their lives are gay with fine frolic and delicate revelry.
Fuck, the jester of Fairyland, stands apart from the rest,
the recognisable * lob of spirits/ a rough ‘ fawn - faced,
shock-pated little fellow, a very Shetlander among the
gossamer-winged, dainty-limbed shapes around him.’ ”
These standard “ appreciations ” may be most fitly
wound up by the eloquent remarks of Swinburne, in his
“ Three Stages of Shakespeare” in the Fortnightly Review for
January 1876: “But in the final poem which concludes
and crowns the first epoch of Shakespeare’s work, the
special graces and peculiar glories of each that went before
are gathered together as in one garland c of every hue and
every scent/ The young genius of the master of all poets
finds its consummation in the Midsummer-Nights Dream ,
The blank verse is as full, sweet, and strong as the best of
Bxron’s or Romeo’s ; the rhymed verse as clear, pure, and
true as the simplest and truest melody of Venus and Adonis
or the Comedy of Errors . But here each kind of excellence
is equal throughout ; there are here no purple patches on a

INTRODUCTION

ki

gown of serge, but one seamless and imperial robe of "a
single dye. Of the lyric and prosaic part, the counter-
change of loves and laughters, of fancy fine as air, and
imagination high as heaven, what need can there be for
any one to shame himself by the helpless attempt to say
some word not utterly unworthy ? ”

Mr. Morton Luce, the editor of The Tempest in the
Arden Shakespeare, 1902, dealing with the characteristics
of that play as an autobiography of Shakespeare, has some
admirable remarks in his comparison of the two plays
(pp. li-lxx). Therein he points out that “ three plays stand
out from the rest in respect of autobiographical interest
and suggestion : they are A Midsummer-Nights Dream ,
Hamlet , and The Tempest ; they reveal their author at the
outset, the middle, and the close of his career” Among
points of similarity he places “ the intimate acquaintance
with nature, the freshness, spontaneity, and fidelity of its
literary presentment” — a faculty possessed, as he points
out, by no other poet of the time. “ Next to this, the
freshness, profusion, and freedom of metaphorical expres-
sion, of imagery, of figurative language generally” The
reader is best referred to the whole of these interesting and
thoughtful passages on Shakespeare’s literary and artistic
development. ■ ■ '

Another interesting discussion on certain alleged points
of resemblance between A Midsummer-Nights Dream and
Titus Andronicus appears in Mr. Bellyse Balldon’s edition
of the latter play in the Arden Shakespeare, 1904 (Intro-
duction, p. lxvi sqql). He instances the despotic claims of
the fathers in both plays, the wood and Its loneliness, the
hunting episode, and the ducal marriage, together with the

Ixil INTRODUCTION

kading ideas in the plot, eg. the marrying a captive queen
by Theseus and Saturninus, and the changing of brides in
the one and the criss-cross love-making in the other, and
the use in both plays of the Pyramus and Thisbe legend.
Yet he is also fain to confess that the two plays afford
more contrast than resemblance. To me it seems that
these points of resemblance and contrast are more fanciful
than real; and I certainly do not agree with him in his
opinion that A Midsummer- Night s Dream was in all
probability written a year or two after Titus Andronicus .
A period of five or six years, is, I think, much more
probable; and Mr. Baildon’s own description of the points
of contrast between the two plays (p. lxvii sqq.) seems to me
to warrant this belief.

For the sake of general convenience, all references to
plays of Shakespeare are to the Act, scene, and line of the
Globe edition. It is a matter of some regret that in the
numbering of the lines in parts of this play, notably in the
prose passages, it has not been found convenient to adhere
to the numeration of the Globe edition.

I have made it a point, so far as was possible to
carry it out, of acknowledging all my sources of assistance,
even in the case of the older editors, I am indebted for
considerable help to Dr. H. H, Furness’s New Variorum
edition, rather as a collection or indication of notes and
excursuses than for any original remarks of that worthy
and industrious editor; and also in a similar way to the
Cambridge Shakespeare for its critical notes, even for the
hopeless rubbish which is therein enshrined — enshrined, it
'vseeihsoto me, as a solemn warning of what Is to. be; avoided;
■ in textual criticism. I am indebted to Mr. P. A. Daniel for’

INTRODUCTION

Ixiii

an interesting note on the fairy “ orbs ” or circles referred to
in II. i. 9, which will be found in Appendix II. Finally, I
have the greatest possible pleasure in expressing my thanks
to Mr. ¥/. J. Craig, the general editor of the Arden
Shakespeare, for his unwearied diligence and courtesy in
placing at my service many selections from his great store-
house of notes in all departments of Elizabethan literature.
Wherever it was found possible to make use of these, they
have been acknowledged in their places in the notes,

A word of thanks is also due to the printers for the
careful and generally accurate manner in which they have
executed their necessary, though, I fear, not always appre-
ciated task.

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

DRAMATIS PERSONAE 1

Theseus, Duke of Athens,

Egeus, Father to Hermia.

Lysander, \j n i ove w if] t Hermia.

Demetrius, J

Philostrate, Master of the Revels to Theseus .

Quince, a Carpenter.

Snug, a foiner.

Bottom, a Weaver.

Flute, a Bellows-mender
Snout, a Tinker.

Starveling, a Tailor.

Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons , betrothed to Theseus.
Hermia, daughter to Egeus , in love with Lysander.
Helena, in love with Demetrius .

Oberon, Ring of the Fairies.

Titania, Queen of the Fairies .

Puck, or Robin Good-fellow, a Fairy \

Peaseblossom, -
Cobweb,

Mote,

Mustard-seed, J

Other Fairies attending their Ring and Queen. Attendants c
Theseus and Hippolyta .

- Fairies.

Sc Em: Athens , and a Wood near it

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

ACT I

SCENE I. — Athens . The Palace of Theseus .

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostrate, and
Attendants .

The. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

Draws on apace ; four happy days bring in
Another moon : but O, methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes ! she lingers my desires,

Like to a step-dame, or a dowager, 5

Long withering out a young man’s revenue.

Scene /. Athens , , .] The Duke's Palace in Athens Theobald. Enter . . ,]
Enter Theseus, Hippolita, with others Qq, Ff. 4. wanes'] waves Q 1.

Scene h No division into acts or
scenes Is marked in the Quartos; the
Folios mark the division into acts only.
CapeiPs division into scenes is that
which is usually followed.

i, Hippolyta] See Introduction.
H Source of the Plot,”

4, lingers] the active or transitive
use. Cf. x, i, 6 , te withering out ” ; 11. i.
67, * ( versing love ; n, h 112, “ child*
ing autumn M ; Richard //* n. ii, 72 :

“ Who gently would dissolve the
bands of life, fdbdd

Which false hope lingers in
extremity.”

6. withering out ] Steevens compares
Chapman’s Iliad, iv. 528, “And there
the goodly plant, lies withering out his.
grace.’’ Whalley, Enquiry into the
Learning of Shakespeare (.1 748), .quoted
by Malone, compares Horace, Epist. 1,
1. 21

<e ut piger annus

PupilHs, quos dura premit custodia
matrum ;

Sic mihi tarda fiuuat ingrataque
tempora.”

Cf. also Merry Wives, X, i. 284, “ I
keep but three men and a buy yet, till

a. - ^

4

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

'Hip. Four days will quickly steep themselves in night ;

Four nights will quickly dream away the time ;

And then the moon, like to a silver bow

New bent in heaven, shall behold the night io

Of our solemnities.

The. Go, Philostrate,

Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments ;

Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth ;

Turn melancholy forth to funerals ;

7. night] Q I ; nights Q 2, Ff. 8. nights] Q 1, Ff ; dates Q 2. 10.

New dent] Rowe ; Now bent Qq, Ff ; night ] height Daniel conj.

10. New bent] Rowe’s admirable actor. Philostrate, as we have seen, is
emendation for the “ now bent ” of the the name assumed by Arcite in the
Qq, Ff. Combinations in “new” are Knightes Tale , 1428, ed. Pollard:
very numerous in Shakespeare. As to “ And Philostrate he sayde that he
the difficulties connected with the dura- highte.”

tlon of the action and the confusion as 13. pert] lively, alert ; full of animal
to the moon’s age, see the Introduc- spirits (Craig). Cf. Love's Labour's Lost ,
tion. V. ii. 272, “ This pert Biron was out of

11. solemnities ] Cf. iv. i. 187, countenance quite.” The word is now
“we’ll hold a feast in great solem- somewhat degraded in meaning. Cot-
nity the idea referring perhaps rather grave has Godinet : “ prettie, dapper,
to the religious, formal, or ceremonious feat, peart”; and Godinette : “a pretty
celebration of Theseus’s nuptials than peart lass.” Skeat, Diet, s.v. y shows
to mere festivity, though no doubt that the Mid. Eng. “ pert ” had two
Shakespeare intended it to be general, sources and two meanings, the latter
Shakespeare’s use of the word is, as running somewhat into each other, t,
Craig suggests, probably due to his In some cases “pert” is a corruption
reading of Chaucer, who uses the word of “apert,” Fr. apert, open, evident,
in the sense of pomp, outward show, from the Lat. apertus ; and “pertly”
ceremony. See the Knightes Tale, io, is used for “openly” or “evidently,”

C '. T.j 868 (Skeat) : 2. In the sense of “proud,” “ imperti-

“ And weddede the queene Ipolita, nent,” e.g. c 1 she was proud and peert,”
And broghte hir boom with him Chaucer, C. 71 , 3950 {Reeve's Tale).

in his contree, The equivalent form, “perk,” is older.

With muckel glorie and greet Cf. “Ferke as a peacock,” Spenser,
solempnitee ” ; Shep. Kal ,, Feb, B. As a verb, the

and Merchants Tale , 1709, “ Thus latter means to make smart or trim, “ to
been they wedded with solempnitee.” be perked up in a glistering grief,” i.e.
Cotgrave has Solennite : “a solemnitie dressed up, Henry VII X. n. Hi, 21,
or solemne feast.” The word, as Furness remarks, is still ,

li, Philostrate] a trisyllable, as in common in New England, and is there '•
V 4 - 43, where the Qq give 4 ‘ Philostrate ” used exactly in the Shakespearian sense, , ,

instead of “ Egeus,” owing, no doubt, 1 and is pronounced as spelled in the Qq ■
to the parts being doubled by the same “peart,” AA “peert.” . 1 '

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 5

The pale companion is not for our pomp. I 5

[Exit Philo strata.

Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword,

And won thy love, doing thee injuries ;

But I will wed thee* in another key,

With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling.

Enter Egeus, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius.

Ege. Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke ! 20

The. Thanks, good Egeus : what 's the news with thee ?
Ege. Full of vexation come I, with complaint
Against my child, my daughter Hermia.

15. [Exit Phil.] Theobald. 19, revelling ] revelry T. White conj. Enter
.. . .} Enter Egeus and his daughter Hermia, and Lysander and Helena, and
Demetrius Q 1 ; Enter . . . Lysander, Helena . , . Q 2 ; Enter Egeus and his
daughter Hermia . . . Ff.

15. companion] fellow: in a de-
preciatory or contemptuous sense. The
words “companion” and “fellow”
have exchanged meanings in later
usage.

15. pomp] in the classic sense, and
probably ' suggested by . “ funerals ” in
line 14. See 19, post.

15. [Exit Philostrate] If the part of
Philostrate was doubled with that of
Egeus, as is very probable, Philostrate
of course must leave the stage at this
point. : fo p

19. pomp] Cf. King John ) n. L 304 :

“Shall braying trumpets and loud
churlish drums,

Clamours of hell, be measures of
our pomp?”

19. triumph] a general term for
public exhibitions of various kinds, or
shows, such as masques, revels, etc.
It is frequent in the historical plays.

' Wright points out that the title of
Bacon’s 37th Essay is “Of Masques
and Triumphs,” and that the Essay
treats of “ masques ” alone ; ■ conse-
quently they may have been considered

synonymous. Cf. 1 Henry IV. hi.
iii. 46, where Falstaff says of Pistol,
“O thou art a perpetual triumph, an
everlasting bonfire light 1 ”

19. revelling] The proposed read-
ing “revelry” is ingenious, but un-
convincing. Theseus’s speech does not
necessarily conclude with a rhyming
couplet. Whatever may have been the
exact pronunciation of revelry in Shake-
speare’s time, it is extremely probable
that key was pronounced “kay ” ; and
Marlowe rhymes it with “ play,” voL iii,
(ed. Sullen), 287 :

“Whose nice perfection in love’s
play

Shall tune me to the highest key,”
Dryden rhymes it with “ lay,” “sway,”
and “prey.”

20. duke] frequently applied in the
early literature to any great leader,
Shakespeare, beyond doubt, found it in
The Jdmgkles Tale.

21. Mgeus] a trisyllable, accented on
the second syllable ; in F 2 “ Egaeus.”

23* child] often in Shakespeare with
the meaning of female child, .girl. See

6 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acti.

Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,

This man hath my consent to marry her: 25

Stand forth, Lysander ; and, my gracious duke,

This man hath witch’d the bosom of my child :

Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,
And interchanged love-tokens with my child :

Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung, 30
With feigning voice, verses of feigning love ;

And stolen the impression of her fantasy
With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats; messengers
Of strong prevailment in unharden’d youth: 35

With cunning hast thou filch’d my daughter’s heart ;
Turn’d her obedience, which is due to me,

To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke,

24, 26. Stand forth . , Demetrius . . . Stand forth , Lysander ] as stage-directions
in Qq, Ff ; Rowe, corr. 27. This man hath] Qq, F 1, Collier, Keightley ;
'This hath F 2, 3, 4; witch'd] Theobald, Warburton, Johnson, Dyce, Keightley,
Hudson ; bewitch'd Qq, Ff. 31* feigning love] feigned love Hammer. 35.
unharden'd] vnhardemd Qq , vnkardnea F 1 .

Winter's Tate, in. hi. 71, “ a very in a falsetto voice.” Craig thinks the
pretty barne I A boy or a child, I meaning here may be “low,” “ plain-
wonder ? ” where the usage is probably, tive,” and that Shakespeare may be
like “barne,” dialectic. quibbling on the musical sense of the

27. ] The reading of the Qq, Ff may word, which is to sing softly, hum an
be supported from Cymbeline, IV. ii, 47: air. The Promptorium Parmdorum
** This youth, howe’er distress’d, (c. 1440), 153, 1, has “Feynyn yn
appears he hath had syngynge, or synge lowe.” And Pais-

Good ancestors.” grave (1530), 548, 1, 4 ‘We maye nat

31. feigning voice ... feigning love] synge out . . . but lette us fayne this
Rowe’s spelling, for the “faming . . . songe.” Cf. also T. Wilson, Rhet. 72,
faining ” of the Qq, Ff seems more “He feyneth to the lute marveilouse
appropriate to the gist of Egeus’s charge swetely.” New. Eng. Did. s.v. The
against Lysander, namely, the stealing form of the word may be an instance of
and cunning filching of Hermia’s heart, the indifferent use of the active and
But Furness prefers the older reading passive forms common in Elizabethan
used in its not unusual sense of “loving,” English. Cf. in, ii, 31, “ distracted
'* 4 longing,” ■ ‘‘yearning,” “Surely,” fear,”;; ' : ,l ";?

fee says, “there was nothing feigned 33. conceits] Cotgrave : Gentilesses,
nor false in LysandePs love, nor any “pretiie conceits, deuices, knacks,

■ discemifele',; reason; why he should sing feats, Lrickes,^ P- : "ff; : : 'P/fi : yd

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 7

Be It so she will not here before your grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius, 40

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens ;

As she is mine, I may dispose of her :

Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death ; according to our law,

Immediately provided in that case. 45

The. What say you, Hermia ? be advised, fair maid :

To you your father should be as a god ;

One that composed your beauties ; yea, and one

To whom you are but as a form in wax,

By him imprinted, and within his power 50

To leave the figure, or disfigure it.

Demetrius is a worthy gentleman ,

Her. So is Lysander.

The, In himself he is :

But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice,

The other must be held the worthier. 5 5

Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes.

The. Rather your eyes must with his judgement look.

Her. I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

I know not by what power I am made bold ;

Nor how it may concern my modesty, 60

In such a presence here, to plead my thoughts ;

; 39. so] Cl III. ii. 314, “so you
will let me quiet go.”

45. Immediately] expressly, . pre-
cisely, Steevens considered the line to
have 4 4 an undoubted mark of legal
commonplace,” No doubt ; but the
** commonplace ” exactly suits the
speaker and the occasion. See Rush*
ton, Shakespeare a Lawyer* 1858, p.
38; ** ‘ Contrary to the form of the
statute in that case made and provided 1

is the allegation which concludes indict-
ments for .offences which are contrary
to the statute ; if the offence is indict-
able at common law the concluding
words are, 4 against the peace of our
lord the King, his crown and dignity/”

54. in this kind] in this respect, i.e.
of marriage.

54* whe] Cf. All's Well % 11. hi. 60,
“ O’er whom both sovereign power and
lather’s voice ! have to use.”

8

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act l

But I beseech your grace, that I may know
The worst that may befall me in this case,

If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure 65

For ever the society of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires,

Know of your youth, examine well your blood,
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,

You can endure the livery of a nun : 70

For aye to be in shady cloister mew’d,

To live a barren sister ail your life,

Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.

Thrice blessed they, that master so their blood,

To undergo such maiden pilgrimage; 75

But earthlier happy is the rose distiil’d,

74. their'] there Q I. 76. earthlier happy] earlier happy Rowe (ed. 2) ;
earthly happier Capell, Knight, Collier, Singer, Staunton ; earthly happy
Steevens conj, ; earthlier-happy Walker, Dyce, Hudson.

65. die the death] This expression of Delphes, to the Oracle of Apollo :
seems to be used by Shakespeare where by a Nunne of the temple, this
always of judicial punishment. Cf. notable prophecie was giuen him for an
Antony and Cleopatra , IV. xiv. 26, answer.” Cf. Marlowe’s Hero and
“She hath betrayed me and shall die Leander , i. 212 (Bullen), “whose nun
the death”; and Cymbeline , rv* h. 96, you are.”

where Cloten evidently considers him- 71. mevdd] confined, shut up; pro-
self the instrument of justice in slaying perly a term in falconry. Cf. Richard
an outlaw (Guiderius). III. I. i. 132. and elsewhere; and see

68. Know of ] “ Ascertain from your R. Holme’s Academy of Armory, etc.,

youth” (Staunton). ^ ii. c. xi. : “ Mew is the place, whether it

69. Whether] A monosyllable in be abroad or in the house in which the

pronunciation, and very frequently so Hawk is put during the time she casts,

in Shakespeare. or doth change her feathers.”

70. livery] formerly signified any 75, pilgrimage] Cf. As You Like It ,
distinctive dress. Cf. 11. i. 113, “their ill. ii. 137 :

wonted liveries ” ; and numerous other “ Some, how brief the life of man
passages in Shakespeare. Runs his erring pilgrimage.”

70. 1 nun] Used for the Delphic 76-78.] The idea of the married
, priestess in North's Rlutartk (1631), state being preferable to the .single is
p. ss' (Life of Theseus) : “ But Egeus not uncommon in Shakespeare, It
desiring (as they say) to know how he appears in the Sonnets; see especially
might have children, went unto the City Sonnets 1, 5, 54; it appears in Touch-

sc. i#] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM

Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,

Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.

Her. So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,

Ere I will yield my virgin patent up 80

Unto his lordship,* whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

The . Take time to pause : and, by the next new moon,
(The sealing-day betwixt my love and me,

For everlasting bond of fellowship,) 85

Upon that day either prepare to die,

For disobedience to your father's will ;

Or else, to wed Demetrius, as he would :

Or on Diana's altar to protest

For aye austerity and single life. 90

Dcm. Relent, sweet Hermia ; — and, Lysander, yield
Thy crazed title to my certain right
Lys. You have her father's love, Demetrius ;

. Si. whose unwished] Qq, F 1 ; to whose unwished F 2, 3 ; to whose umuisk'd
F4. 87. your}you F 2.

stone's sentiment in As You Like It,
in. iii. 56, “Is the single man there-
fore blessed ? ” Walker quotes from
the Colloquies of Erasmus (Colloq.
Prod et Puellse) : “ Ego rosam existimo
feliciorem, quae marescit in hominis
manu, delectans interim et oculos et
nares, quam quae senescit in frutice.”
Cf. Lyly, Midas, 11. i. : “ You bee all
young and faire, endevour all to bee
wise and vertuous ; that when, like
roses, you shall fall from the slalke, you
may be gathered and put to the still”
Cf. also Marlowe’s Hero and Leander,
L 262 (Bulien) :

,c Virgin! :y, albeit some highly prize it,
Compar’d with marriage, had you

Differs as much as wine and wafer

; ■. V

So. virgin patent} privilege of virgin-

ity, and the liberty that belongs to it,
Wright Cf. Othello , iv. L 208, “If
you. are so fond ' over her iniquity, give;
her patent to offend . ”

84, 85. sealing - day . .. .. bond} Cf.
the legal phraseology of 1. i. 45, ante,
98, post , and “seal of bliss,” m. ii.
144.

92. crazed title} A title with a daw,
Cotgrave; “Accrazer, to break, burst,
craze, bruise.” Cf. Chaucer, The Canon* s
Yeoman's Tale, 934 (ed. Pollard), “I
am right siker that the pot was erased” ;
Lyly’s Euphues (ed. Arber), 58, **; Yes,
yes, Lu cilia, well doth he knowe that
the glasse once erased will with the
least clappe be cracked ” ; King Lear,
rn. it* 275, “grief hath crazed my
wits ” ; and Peele, David and Jktksak,
sc. iii. 36, ed. Bulien, “ Some dainties
easeful to thy crazed soul.”

10 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act i.

Let me have Hermia’s : do you marry him.

Ege. Scornful Lysander ! true, he hath my love; 95

And what is mine my love shall render him ;

And she is mine ; and all my right of her
I do estate unto Demetrius.

Ljts. I am, my lord, as well derived as he,

As well possess'd ; my love is more than his ; 1 00

My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd,

If not with vantage, as Demetrius' ;

And, which is more than all these boasts can be,

I am beloved of beauteous Hermia :

Why should not I then prosecute my right? 105
Demetrius, I 'll avouch it to his head,

Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,

And won her soul ; and she, sweet lady, dotes,

94. Hermieds ] Hermia Tyrwhitt conj. 98. unto] upon Hanmer. ioi
fortunes] fortune's Rowe, Pope, Theobald, Warburton, Johnson. 102. Deme-
trius ' ] Pope, Hanmer ; Demetrius Qq, Ff. 104. beauteous ] beautious Qq.
107. Nedar's] Nestor's Walker conj.

98. estate unto ] Cf. Tempest , IV. cate a pronunciation of ti like sk. If

i. 8$ : so, it is possibly the pronunciation of

“ And some donation freely to estate merely the compositors, and it is some*

.. On the blest lovers ; ' ; what strange, that, both of them should

and' As You Like It, v. ii. 13, “All here agree, : This is another reminder
the revenue .. . will I estate upon of the gap which lies between Shake- '
you.’" Furness remarks : “ If Shake- speare and us, and of the futility of
speare elsewhere discloses the lawyer, examining microscopically the spelling
he betrays the layman here. A lawyer or even the punctuation of his plays as
would, instinctively almost, say, they have been transmitted tons.” Fur-
c Estate upon,’ or J on, ? . as indeed ness.

Shakespeare has done elsewhere in the 106. to his head ] to his face, in his
only two places, I believe, in which he teeth, Cf. Measure for Measure , iv, iii.
has used the verb.” But is this not 147*. “to the head of Angelo accuse
hypercriticism. ? Surely “unto ” is him home and home ” ; Much Ado , v. i
merely a reminiscence of the habendum 62: “ Know, Claudio, to thy head, Thou
clause of a conveyance. hast so wrong’d ” ,* and King Lear, v.

99, well derived] well-bom, Cf. Two iii. 147: “Back do I toss these trea-

Gentlemen of Verona, v. ii' 23, “that sons to thy head.” Craig refers to
you are well derived.” Golding’s Ovid’s Mctam* {16x1), p. 157,

104. beauteous] “ The spelling hcauti- “I made complaint to Paris, and ac*
ms in the Quartos may ' possibly indi* cused him to his head.”

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 11

Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,

Upon this spotted and inconstant man. 1 10

The. I must confess that I have heard so much,

And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof ;
But, being over-full of self-affairs,

My mind did lose it But, Demetrius, come ;

And come, Egeus ; you shall go with me, 1 1 5

I have some private schooling for you both.

For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself
To fit your fancies to your father’s will ;

Or else the law of Athens yields you up

(Which by no means we may extenuate) 120

To death, or to a vow of single life.

Come, my Hippolyta ; what cheer, my love ?
Demetrius, and Egeus, go along ;

I must employ you in some business
Against our nuptial, and confer with you

1 14. lose ] loose Q i. ri8. fancies] fancy Keightley conj.
nuptiall Qq, F I ; nuptialls 3, 4, Rowe,- etc. r

12 $

' ' 'mtpimi'j.

no. spotted ] stained, wicked. Cf.
Titus Andronicus, ii. iii. 74, <e Spotted,
detested, and abominable” ; Richard II.
in. ii. 134, “ their spotted souls”;
King Lear, v. iii. 139: “ A most toad-
spotted traitor.” Cotgrave has Tache :
“spotted, blotted, stained, blemished,
disgraced.*’ So Cavendish’s Metrical
Visions, “Spotted with pride, vicious-
ness, and cruelty.”

U 3. self affairs] Cf. Measure for
Measure, ill . ii. 280, “self-offences”;
Troilus and Cressida, II. iii, 182, “self-
breath”; and Cymb&lim, HI. iv. 149,
“self-danger.”

1 17. arm yourself] Cf, Hamlet, in. Hi.
24, “ Aim you to this speedy voyage,”
123. go] where we should say “ come.”
Cf. Taming of ike Shrew, iv. v. 7 ;
$ Henry IK II. b 191 ? and Othello,
I* i. 181.

■ 125. nuptial] Shakespeare rmmis/i
to have preferred the singular to the
plural form, and the singular is printed
by the editors' imevery' passage 'where
the word occurs, with the exception of
Pericles, v. iii, 80, where we have the
plural form ; but for this Shakespeare
is not responsible* Similarly, “ funeral ”
and “funerals,” Cf. fulius Casar, v.
Hi. 105, “ His funerals shall not be in
our camp,” .. Furness very pertinently
remarks: “As long as the source of
our knowledge of Shakespeare’s lan-
guage is a text transmitted to us by
several compositors, it is hazardous to
assert that Shakespeare employs any
speck! form of a word. In the instance
from Othello , the Oq, it is true, have the
plural “nuptialls,” but the word in the
Ff is in the singular, as Wright notes*
Cf. Tempest , v. 1 . 308.

12

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act i.

Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.

Ege. With duty and desire we follow you.

[j Exeunt all but Lysander and Hermia.
Lys> How now, my love? Why is your cheek so
pale ?

How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

Her . Belike, for want of rain; which I could well 130
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.

Lys. Ay me ! for aught that I could ever read,

127. Exeunt . . .] Exeunt Manet Lysander and Hermia Ff ; Exeunt Qq.
12S. Scene 11. ] Pope, Hanmer, Warburton, Fleay. 131. my] Qq, mine Ff.
132. Ay me! for aught that I could ever] Eigh me : for might that I could eiter Qq ;
ought Q 2 ; For ought that euer I could F 1 ; Hermia for ought that ever I could
F 2, 3, 4 ; Ay me ! for aught that ever 1 could Dyce ; Ay me /] Ah me l Johnson.

127. Exeunt all but Lysander and them,” i.e. the roses, and # that the
Hermia,] “ It was a strange oversight word is used in the sense of a pouring
on the part of Egeus to leave his out. So Steevens. Staunton, Grant
daughter with Lysander.” Wright. White, and Knight consider the mean-
“ The plot requires this private con- ing to be “afford,” “yield,” “allow”;
ference between Hermia and Lysander, and this sense is no doubt suitable here,
at which the scheme to leave Athens Cf. Hamlet , 1. ii. 141, “that he might
may be arranged. Shakespeare’s de- not beteem the winds of heaven ” ; the
vice to bring about the conference is only other passage in Shakespeare
. . . artificial,. . . In his later plays, where the word occurs, and means
when he is more experienced in stage- “permit,” “allow.”' Dyce paraphrases,
craft, Shakespeare so contrives Ms plot “to give in streaming abundance.”
that one event springs naturally from The sense of the passage would seem
another, in accordance with proba- to be simply “pour on or for them.”
hility.” Verity. Pope, Hanmer, and The word meant “to be pregnant,”
Warburton began a new scene here; “to be full of”; and is certainly still
but, as the Midsummer-Night's Dream used in the North of England, Scot-
was almost certainly printed from a land, and Ireland in the sense of pour-
stage copy, the authority of the Folio ing, e.g. “it is teeming,” “it is a
cannot be ignored or gainsaid, and teeming day,” “it is teeming with
hence we must keep to the present rain ” ; and Swift uses it in the sense
division into scenes. of “pour,” Cf. “stalled ” in King

129. chance} t.e. Plow chances it? Lear , ill. vii. 64. Craig remarks that

as in Hamlet^ 11. ii. 343, “.How as Shakespeare very often plays on the
chances it they travel ? ” Cf. v. i. 318, two meanings of a word, no doubt he
post. does so here.

1 30. Belike} still used in Lancashire. 1 32. Ay me/} The . * 4 Hermia ” of F2, '

131* Beteem} “pour down upon ’em,” 3, 4 is certainly more impressive than

Pope# “ Qive them, bestow upon the mere self- pitying exclamation of
them,” , Johnson# Capell considers Lysander, and gives a certain amount
“beteem them ” stands for “ beteem to of point and pathos to, the opening of

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 13

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth ;

But, either it was different in blood ; — 135

Her, O cross ! too high to be enthrall'd to low !

Lys. Or else misgraffed in respect of years ; —

Her . O spite ! too old to be engaged to young !

Lys. Or else it stood upon the choice of friends ; —

Her, O hell ! to choose love by another's eyes! 140

Lys, Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,

War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it;

133. hear] here Q 1. 136. low] Theobald ; loue Qq, Ff. 13S . to young]
too young HI 4. 139. friends ] Qq, merit Ff, men Collier. 140. eyes] Qq ;

eie F 1 ; eye F 2, 3, 4.

his speech ; but on the balance of
probability the reading of the Qq
“Eigh me,” i.e, “Ay me, 55 seems pre-
ferable, and cannot be disregarded. Bp.
Newton, in his edition of MiltonJ(i749),
long ago called attention to the resem-
blance between Lysander’s : . complaint
and that of Adam, in Paradise Lost,
x. 898-906.

136, 1 3$, 140.] It seems clear that,
as Halliweli says, “the author evi-
dently intended both the speakers
should join in passionately lamenting
the difficulties encountered in the path
of love.” Coleridge, however, Notes
and Lectures (1874 ed.), 101, says :
“There is no authority for the altera-
tion ; but I never can help feeling how
great an improvement it would be if
the two former of Hermia’s exclama-
tions were omitted {i.e, lines 136, 138) :
and the third and only appropriate one
would then become a beauty and most
natural.”

136. low ] Theobald’s excellent read-
ing for the “ loue ” of the Qq, Ff. He
thinks Ilennia answering Lysander’s
complaint of the difference in Mood
must necessarily say low, and that in
this way the antithesis is kept up in the
terms* This is one of the curses pro-

phesied by Venus, in Venus and Adonis ,
1131-1140, “Sorrow on love hereafter
shall attend,” etc.

1 37. misgrajftd] i.e. ill-grafted. “The
form * graft’ is corrupt and due to a
confusion with ‘ graffed,’ originally the
past-participle of * graff.’ Shake-
speare has 4 grafted,’ Macbeth , IV. iii*
51 ; but he has rightly also { graft 3 as a
past-participle, , 'Richard ■ III, : III, wii,;, ..
127. Cf. As You Like It, ill. ii 124,
“I ’ll graff it with you, and then I shall
graff it with a medlar.” .

139, friends ] The reading of ’ the Qq, . .
for which the Ff substitute “ merit.

“ The substitution,” says Fumess, “ can
hardly be deemed either a compositor’s
sophisticationor anaccident A change
so decided must have been made with
authority; it is a change, moreover,
not from an obscure word to a plainer
word, but from a plain word to one
more recondite in meaning. A 4 choke
of merit * is a choice enforced through
desert or as a reward, qualities with
which true love or ‘sympathy in choice*
can have nothing in common. It is
a choice good -enough in itself, but
worldly-wise, calculating, one of the
roughest of obstructions to the course
of true love, in that It may be urged by

14 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act i.

Making it momentany as a sound,

Swift as a shadow, short as any dream ;

Brief as the lightning in the collied night, 145

That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,

And ere a man hath power to say, — Behold !

The jaws of darkness do devour it up :

So quick bright things come to confusion.

Her. If, then, true lovers have been ever cross'd 150

143. momentany] Qq, momentarie Ff.
148 do] to F 3, 4.

parents so plausibly ; and this very
urging is implied in Hermia’s phrase of
choosing 4 by another’s eye/ and pos-
sibly the vehemence of her expletive
indicates that this obstruction is the
worst of the three. But, with the ex-
ception of Rowe and R, G. White (in
his first edition), all editors have adopted
4 friends J of the Quartos, and only two
have any remarks on it.”

143. momentany } 4 c The old and pro-
per word.” Johnson* “ Momentany
seems to have been the earlier form,
from Fr. momentanie, Lat. momentan -
eus. ” Wright, Craig quotes two early
examples: 4 * Everything in this world

. is caduke, transitory, and momentany, ”
Bp* Fisher’s Works (Mayor, Marly Eng.
Text Soc . Ed.), p. 196; and /* And
therefore besought him that he would
not preferre an uncertain and momen-
tany benefit/’ Daniel’s History of
England , ed. iii. (Grosart, Works, iv.
215}, And see Tyndall’s translation
of 2 Cor. iv. 1 y, “oure excedinge
tribulacion which is momentany and
light.”

144. Swift as a shadow ] Furness
compares Romeo and Juliet, 11. v. 4 :

“ love’s heralds should be
thoughts,

Which ten times faster glide than the
// smfs beams, ; :

"'■ ; V'Driyin^': back shadows over lowrmg

1 46. spleen] sheen Hanmer conj . MS.

145. lightning] Cf. Romeo and
Juliet , 11. ii. 120:

“ Too like the lightning, which doth
cease to be,

Ere one can say, 4 It lightens.’ ”

145. collied] here in the literal sense,
“ blackened,” “ smutted.” Cotgrave:
“ Charbonne, painted, marked, written
with a coale, collowed, smeered, blacked
with coales ; (hence) also darkened.”
Grose ( Provincial Glossary) gives,
u Colley, the black or soot from a kettle.”
In the literal sense, cf. Ben Jonson,
Poetaster , IV. iii. 242, “ Thou hast not
collied thy face enough”; and in the
metaphorical of 1 ‘darkened/’ cf. Othello,
11. iii. 21 1, “ and passion having my
best judgment collied.”

146. in a spleen] in a flash, a violent
haste ; implying a sudden outburst, e.g.
of some passion. Similarly, of swift or
violent motion, in Ring John , n. i. 448,
“ with swifter spleen than powder can
enforce ” ; and v. vii. 50, “scalded
with my violent motion And spleen of
speed to see your majesty ! ” Shake-
speare uses the word with the other
meanings of “humour, caprice, and
inconstancy ” (Johnson) j and of violent
mirth, as “the spleen was anciently
supposed to be the cause of laughter ”
(Steevens).

150. ever cross'd] always crossed.
Cf. “customary cross,” 153, post, and
“still,” 212, post.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 15

It stands as an edict in destiny:

Then let us teach our trial patience,

Because it is a customary cross ;

As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs,

Wishes and tears,, poor fancy’s followers. 15 5

Lys. A good persuasion ; therefore, hear me, Hermia.

I have a widow aunt, a dowager
Of great revenue, and she hath no child ;

And she respects me as her only son.

From Athens is her house remote seven leagues : 160
There, gentle Hermia, may I many thee ;

And to that place the sharp Athenian law
Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me then,

Steal forth thy father’s house to-morrow night ;

And in the wood, a league without the town, 165
Where I did meet thee once with Helena,

To do observance to a morn of May,

154. due] dewe Q x. 159, 160. And , . . leagues ] transposed according
to Johnson’s conj., adopted by Keightley and Hudson ; From ..... son Qq, Ff.
160. remote] Qq, remould Ff. 167. to a] Qq, Capell, etc. ; for a Ff ; to the
Pope, etc.

1 51. edict] accented on the ultimate,
as in Love's Labours Lost , I. L 11: “Our
late edict shall strongly stand in force
but on the penultimate in 1 Henry IV,
iv. lil 79*

155. fancy's] ue, love’s; frequent in
Shakespeare, Cf. in this play, 4 4 fancy-
free,” 11. i 170; “ fancy -sick,” ill. it
99; “Fair Helena, in fancy, followed
me,” iv. L 160; and “fancy-monger,”
As You Like It, in. ii. 382.

15 6, persuasion ] “persuasive argu-
ment ” (Wright), or “ decision ” ; not
(as Schmidt) “ opinion,” “belief.”

159, 160.3 Johnson proposed to tons-
pose these lines as they stand in the
Qq, Ff, and I think rightly. Cf. v.
h 275, 2 76; 426, 427*

' 159* respects] regards, looks upon me.

160. remote] the reading of the Qq
is adopted by almost all subsequent
editors. Furness,, however, prefers
the Folio reading, and quotes Hamlet,
1. iv. 61, “ It . waves, you to a .more re*
moved ground ” ; and As You Like It,
ill. ii. 360, “so removed a dwell -

167. observance] Cf. IV. i. 29 ; and
Chaucer, The Knightes Tale, 1 500 (ed.
Pollard), “and for to doon his observ-
aunce to May ” ; and his Troilus and
.Creseide,. ii. 112, “and lat us don to
May some observaunce.” “ Scarcely
an English poet from Chaucer to
Tennyson is without a reference to the
simple customs by which our ancestors
celebrated the advent of the dowers,”
Wright,

m

16 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actl

There will I stay for thee.

Her. My good Lysander!

I swear to thee, by Cupid's strongest bow,

By his best arrow with the golden head, 170

By the simplicity of Venus 5 doves,

By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,

And by that fire which burn’d the Carthage queen,
When the false Troyan under sail was seen ;

By all the vows that ever men have broke, 175

In number more than ever women spoke ;

In that same place thou hast appointed me,
To-morrow truly will I meet with thee.

Lys. Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.

Enter Helena.

Her. God speed, fair Helena ! Whither away? 180

Hel, Call you me fair ? that fair again unsay.

Demetrius loves your fair : O happy fair !

171, 172. By the » . . loves] transposed by Singer (ed. 2), 1 72. loves] Q r ;
loue Q z, Ff. 180. Scene III.] Pope 5 speed , fair] Theobald, speed fair F 1.
182. your fair] Qq, you fair Ff, you , fair Rowe (ed. 2}.

169. Cupid's ... bow] CLVenus and 161 (Bullen), “Thence flew Love’s

Adonis, 58 1, u by Cupid’s bow he doth arrow with the golden head”; and
protest. 5 ’ Sidney’s Arcadia , 11. , “But arrowes

170. best arrow] alluding to the two and tipt with gold or lead.” Cf.
arrows of Ovid’s Me/am., i. 467, in also Twelfth Night , I. 1 . 35 :

Golding’s translation, in which Shake- u Plow will she love when the rich
speare was well versed : golden shaft

“Therefrom his quiver full of shafts Hath killed the flock of all affee-
two arrows he did take : tions else

Of sundry powers; tone causeth That live in her.”

Love, the tother doth it slake. 172.] The allusion is 1 ‘most prob-
That causeth loue is all of golde, ably to the cestusol Venus,” Keightley,
with point full sharpe and Expositor, 1867.
bright, 174. Troyan] So Qq, F I,

That chaseth loue is blunt, whose 1S2. your fair] The “you” of F l

is makes admirable sense; the . first
flight” £ “fair” being then taken as an adjec-

Cf. Marlowe’s 1 Hero and Leamfer, i live, i.e. Demetrius loves you who are

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 17

Your eyes are lode-stars ; and your tongue's sweet air
More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear
When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear. 1 8 5
Sickness is catching ; O, were favour so.

Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go ;

My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye,

My tongue should catch your tongue's sweet melody.
Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, 190
The rest I 'Id give to be to you translated.

O, teach me how you look ; and with what art
You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart !

$~£er. I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.

186. Qq, Ff ; so! Theobald. 1S7. Yours would /] Hanmer ; Your
words I Qq, F I ; Your words Ide F 2, 3, 4. 188. ear , . . voice} hair ...

hair Hudson (Lettsom conj,). 1S9. tongue} voice Cartwright conj. 191.
PM} Pd Hanmer, White ii., Keightley, Hudson ; He Q 1 ; Ik Q 2, F 1, 2 ; I k
F 3 j 4 -

fair; and the second “ fair 55 as a sub- tenance,” Steevens. It refers, I think,
stantive, of course in the sense of fair- to the personal qualities of physical
ness, beauty, which is very common in beauty enumerated 1S8 sqq % Cf. As
Shakespeare. You Like It, iv. Hi. 87: “The boy

183. lode-stars'] leading or guiding is fair, Of female favour”; and the
stars. Cl Lucreee, 179: play upon the word in Love's Labour's

“Whereat a waxen torch forthwith Lost, v. ii 33:

he lighted!, “An if my face were but as fair as

^^WhSch-Tisust be lode-star to his ■ yours fi

lustful eye , My favour were as great.”

and Chaucer, Knightes Tale, 2059: 187. Yours would r catch] the ex-

“how woful Calystope . . . cellent emendation of Hanmer, It is

Was turned from a womman to a impossible to defend the reading of the
here, Qq or Ff; and even Furness"' deserts

And after was sche maad the lode- the Folio here,
store,” 1S8, 1S9, My ear should catch . . .

Sir John Maundevile in his Travels (ed. melody] There is no reason for any
Halliwell, p. 180) thus describes the change of reading here. It was surely
“lode-star”: “In that Lond, ne in necessary for Helena’s ear to catch
many othere ' beyonde that, no man Uermia’s voice before her own tongue
may see the Sterre transmontane, that should catch the sweet melody of her
is dept the Sterre of the See, that is rival’s. For the rhyme of “ eye ” with
immovable, and that is toward the “melody,” cf. n, ii* 13* 14.

Norths, that we depen . the Lode- 190, hated] excepted, lit. abated.
Store,” 191. InwJafed] transformed. See

186. favour] “ that is, ieaiure, coun- ill. I T2i.

18 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

HeL O, that your frowns would teach my smiles such
skill! 195

Her. I give him curses, yet he gives me love.

HeL O, that my prayers could such affection move !

Her . The more I hate, the more he follows me.

HeL The more I love, the more he hateth me.

Her . His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine. 200

HeL None, but your beauty; would that fault were mine!
Her. Take comfort ; he no more shall see my face ;
Lysander and myself will fly this place.

Before the time I did Lysander see,

Seem'd Athens as a paradise to me : 205

O, then, what graces in my love do dwell,

, That he hath turn'd a heaven unto a hell !

Lys, Helen, to you our minds we will unfold ;

200. folly, Helena , is no fault } Q 1 ; folly, Helena is none Q 2, Ff ; fault, ok
Helena, is none Hanmer ; fault, faire Helena , is none Collier; Helena ] Helen
Dyce (ed. 2 ), Hudson. 201. beauty] F x, beauty’s Hudson (Daniel conj.).
205. as] Q x ; like Q 2, Ff. 207. unto a] Q 1 ; into Q 2, Ff ; unto Boswell.

200. no fault oj mine ] So Q 1, and mine/ The demonstrative i that ’seems
the majority of editors ; Q 2 and Ff clearly to refer to a 4 fault 5 previously
having 4 * none of mine. Furness expressed. This weighs so heavily
adheres to the text of F x, and remarks : with Capell that he says the word
“ If we .assume that Hermia is trying ‘fault 3 must ‘of necessity have a
to comfort her dear friend with assur- place 3 in Hermia' s line. Lastly, it is
antes of her enduring love, then there in favour of the Folio that Helena's
is a charm in this asseveration, in the first words are Hermia’s last. 4 It is
Folio, that she does not share in none of mine, 3 says Hermia. 4 It is
Demetrius’s folly, which gives hate for none of yours, 3 assents Helena/ 3
love, but that she returns love for love ; 207. unto a hell!] Dyce, Remarks ,

and her words become sympathetic and 44, says : “The context, a heaven, is
caressing. But if we adopt the text of quite enough to determine that the
Q x, Hermia’s words have a faint tinge reading of Fisher’s 410 {i.e. Q x), unto
of acerbity (which, it must be con- a hell, is the right one, excepting that
fessed, is not altogether out of char- unto should be into. Cf. a well-known
acter), as though she were defending passage of Milton :
herself from some unkind imputation, 1 The mind in its own place and in
and wished to close the discussion itself

(which would also be not unnatural). Can make a heaven of hell, a hell
It is again in favour of the Quarto that o£Leaven.L: : ;V :; ■

Helena replies, i would that fault were Paradise Losi i i. 254/’

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

19

To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth behold

Her silver visage in the watery glass, 210

Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,

A time that lovers* flights doth still conceal,

Through Athens* gates have we devised to steal
Her, And in the wood, where often you and I

Upon faint primrose-beds were wont to lie, 21 5

Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet ;

There my Lysander and myself shall meet :

And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,

To seek new friends and stranger companies.

Farewell, sweet playfellow; pray thou for us, 220
And good luck grant thee thy Demetrius !

213. gates] Qq, F 1, 2 ; gate F 3, 4. 216. sweet ] Theobald ; sweld Qq, Ff.

219. stranger companies ] Theobald, etc. ; strange companions Qq, Ff. 221.
iky] thine Rowe (ed. 2).

211. liquid pearl ] Cf. II. i. 1 5, corrupted into * sweld,’ because that

“ And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s made an antithesis to * emptying ’ ;
ear.” and ‘strange companions’ our editors

212. still] always, constantly. Cf. thought was plain English, but ‘stranger

“ever,” 150, ante. companies’ a little quaint and unintel-

21$. faint primrose-beds] “faint” is ligible. Our author elsewhere uses
here, I think, an epithet of colour, the substantive ‘ stranger * adjectively,
hardly of smell. See Winter's Tale , and ‘companies 9 to signify * com-
iv. iv. 122, “pale primroses, That die panions.’ See Tie hard //. 1. in. 143,
unmarried”; and Cymbelim, iv. ii. ‘ But tread the stranger paths of banish-
221, “the flower that’s like thy face, merit’; and in Henry V. 1. i. 53,
pale primrose.” Marshall points out ‘His companies unlelter’d, rude and
that Shakespeare uses “pale” and shallow.’ And so in a parallel word,,
“faint” together, namely, in King ‘My riots past, my wild societies,’
John, v. vil 21, “ I am the cygnet to Merry Wives, ill. iv. 8.” Steevens
’this pale faint swan.” and Halliwell adhere to the Folio read-

219. stranger companies} Theobald’s ings. Dyce believes that more certain
happy conjecture for “strange com- emendations were never made ; Wright
pamons,” He remarks: “This whole considers that the rhyme is decisive in
scene is strictly in rhyme, and that it favour of Theobald’s conjecture; and
deviates ... I am persuaded is owing Furness that in a modernised text
to the ignorance of the first and the Theobald’s emendations should be
inaccuracy of the later editors; I adopted unquestionably. It is an ex-
have, therefore, ventured to restore the ample of the confusion of the final “ e ”
rhymes as I? ke no doubt but the poei and “er.”
iii t gave them. Sweet was e sily

20

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

Keep word, Lysander : we must starve our sight
From lovers' food till morrow deep midnight.

[Exit Hermia.

Lys . I will, my Hermia. — Helena, adieu :

As you on him, Demetrius dote on you! 225

[Exit Lysander .

HeL How happy some, o’er other some can be !

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.

But what of that ? Demetrius thinks not so ;

He will not know what all but he do know.

And as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes, 230

So I, admiring of his qualities.

Things base and vile, holding no quantity,

Love can transpose to form and dignity.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind ;

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind : 235

Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgement taste;

Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste :

And therefore is Love said to be a child,

225. dole] Qq, doles Ff. 229. do] Qq, doth Ff. 232. 'idle] Qq, F 4 ;
vilde Fi. 2,3; quantity ] quality Johnson conj. 237. figure] Howe, figure,
Qq, Ff ; haste] hast F 4.

225. dote] The “dotes” of the Folio So in Hamlet, in, iL 177, “ For

is a clear instance of the interpolation women’s fear and love holds quantity ** ;
of the final “s,” early recognised by i.e. keep proportion to each other
Pope as an error, and acknowledged by (Bowden) • and Merry Wives , v„ v.
every subsequent editor. 235:

226. other some] “A quaint but u Fent. You would have married her

pretty phrase, of frequent occurrence in most shamefully,

early works,” Halliwell. See Measure Where there was no proportion

for Measure, in. ii. 94, “other some, held in love,”

(say) he is in Rome ” ; and Chapman’s So “holding no quantity” may be
' Fifth Sestiad of Hero ami Leander, line “where there is no proportion held in
387, voi. 5 Si, (Bullen). worth,” Craig. “Having no proper*

231, admiring] Of# King Lear, n. lion to the estimate formed of them,”
i 41, “ Mumbling, of wicked charms,” Wright Chambers thinks the word is

232. quantity] perhaps here meaning here used in the sense of “large quart*
“proportion, corresponding degree.” tity. M

I

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 21

Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.

As waggish boys in game themselves forswear, 24c
So the boy Love is perjured everywhere ;

For ere Demetrius look’d on Hermia’s eyne,

He hail’d down oaths that he was only mine ;

And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt,

So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt. 245
I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight :

Then to the wood will he, to-morrow night,

Pursue her ; and for this intelligence
If I have thanks, it is a dear expense :

But herein mean I to enrich my pain, 250

To have his sight thither, and back again. [Exit,

SCENE IL- — Athens , Quince's House .

Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout,

and Starveling.

Quin. Is all our company here?

239. he is so off] Q i ; he is oft Q 2 ; he is often F I ; he often is F 2, 3, 4.
240. in game themselves] themselves in game F 3, 4. 244. this) Q 1, Ff ; his

Q a. 245. So he] Lo y he Cape'll ; Soon it Rann ; Soon he Daniel conj. ' 24$.

thk\ Qq, hu Ff. , A

Scene //.] Capdl ; Scene iv. Pope. Quince's House] A Room m Quince’s
house Capdl ; changes io a cottage Theobald. Enter . . .] Enter Quince,
the Carpenter; and Snugge, the Joyner; and Bottom, the Weauer ; and Flute,
the Rellowes mender ; and Snout, the Tinker ; and Starueling, the Tayler Q x ;
Enter Quince the Carpenter, Snug the Joyner, Bottome the Weauer, Flute the
Bellow, s-mender, Snout the Tinker, and Stameling the Taylor Q 2, Ff.

249. dear exfmse] il A painful pur-
chase, a bitter bargain. 4 If I have
thanks, the sacrifice which I make in

S ' : Ding Demetrius this information will
doubly distressing to me.f Of
course she would much rather that
Demetrius, her old lover, 'did not
thank her for setting him on the traces
of his new mistress. Thanks would be a

mockery in the circumstances, and thi>.
is what Helena means to say . . , The
‘sight’ of Demetrius and not his 4 thanks s
was to be Helena’s recompense,” W.
N. Lettsoxn {Blackwood, Aug, 1853}.

Scene n *

u In this scene Shakespeare takes
advantage of his knowledge of the

22 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

Bot. You were best to call them generally, man by
man, according to the scrip.

Quin. Here is the scroll of every man’s name, which

is thought fit, through all Athens, to play in 5
our interlude before the duke and the duchess,
on his wedding-day at night.

Bot. First, good Peter Quince, say what the play
treats on ; then read the names of the actors ;
and so grow to a point. 10

Quin. Marry, our play is — The most lamentable comedy,

3. according to] Q I, Ff ; according Q 2. 10. grow to a point ’] Qq, etc. ; grow

on to a point F I, 2, 3 ; grow on to appoint F 4 ; go on to a point Warburton ;
go on to appoint Collier.

theatre to ridicule the prejudices and does immediately atter “ scrip,” seems
the competitions of the players, to indicate that Shakespeare had the
Bottom, who is generally acknow- above quoted passage from Holland’s
ledged the principal actor, declares Pliny in his mind,
his inclination to be for a tyrant, for 7. wedding-day at night] Cf. Romeo
a part of fury, tumult, and noise, such and Juliet , r. iii. 21, “On Lammas-
as every young man pants to perform eve at night shall she be fourteen.”
when he first steps upon the stage. Craig refers to Lyly (ed. Fairholt), i.
The same Bottom, who seems bred in 215 : “ Gallathea, Played before the
a tiring-room, has another histrionical queenes majestie at Greenwich on
passion. He is for engrossing every New-Yeeres day at Night by the
part, and would exclude his inferiors children of Paules.”
from every possibility of distinction. 10. grow to a point] Bottom probably
He is therefore desirous to play Pyramus, means no more than come to the point.
Thisbe, and the Lion, at the same Cf. Peele, Arraignment of Paris , 11. L:
time.” Johnson. “ Our reasons will be infinite, I

2. You were best] i.e. to or for you trow,

it were best, a well-known construe- Unless unto some other point we

. tion. . . grow.”

2. generally] a Bottomism for “sever- Craig quotes Dekker and Webster’s

ally,” “particularly,” “individually.” Northward Ho (Works, Pearson, 1S73,

3. scrip] script, list. Cf. its use, in p. 15}, “No, I will like a justice of
the sense merely of a written document, peace grow to the point.” Chambers,
in Holland’s Pliny , vii. canto 25 (of however, would explain the phrase as
Julius Caesar), “ When upon the battell meaning “do the thing thoroughly,
at Pharsalia, as wel the coffers and completely.”

caskets with letters and other writings 11* lamentable comedy] See Intro-
of Pompey as also those of Scipioes duction, and v. i. 56-60. Steevens
before Thapsus came into his hands, he thought this was very probably a bur-
was most true unto them, and burnt al, lesque on the title-page of Cambyses,
without reading one script or scroll” A lamentable ■ Tragedie, mixed full
4* screU] This word, coming as it of pleasant Mirth, conUyning ike • life of

SC. n. J MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 23

and most cruel death of Pyramus and
Thisby.

Bot. A very good piece of work, I assure you, and

a merry. — Now, good Peter Quince, call forth 15
your actors by the scroll : Masters, spread your-
selves.

Quin. Answer as I call you. — Nick Bottom, the
weaver.

Bot Ready. Name what part I am for, and pro- 20
ceed.

Quin. You, Nick Bottom, are set down for Pyramus,

Bot . What is Pyramus ? a lover, or a tyrant ?

Quin. A lover, that kills himself most gallant for

love. 2 5

Bot. That will ask some tears in the true performing
of it : if I do it, let the audience look to their
eyes; I will move storms, I will condole In

19. weaver ] Weauer? Q i.
storms] stones Collier.

24. gallant j Qq, etc. ; gallantly Ff. 28.

Cambists, King oj Percia, etc., by
Thomas Preston [? 1561]; but it is
doubtful, as Furness rightly remarks, if
a. burlesque of any particular play was
meant, ;;;i:

12.] War ton, History of English
Poetry { 1824), iv. 243, remarks that in
1562 was licensed "the boke of Fery*
mus and Thesbye.”

24. gallant] Probably this is nothing
more than an example of Shake-
speare’s free use of adjectives as
adverbs.

, 28. storms] Does Bottom mean storms
of grief or of applause? Cf. 2 Henry VI.
in. i. 349, u I will stir up in .England
some black storms. M Collier's reading,
"'stones,*’ however, is ''worth considera-
tion, and cannot be lightly dismissed.

See, for the idea,, amongst other pas-
sages, Two Gentlemen 1 in. ii. 79,
"Orpheus’ lute . . . Whose golden
touch could soften steel and stones ” ;
Merchant of Venice, v. i. 80 :

, : v ".therefore the poet
Bid feign that Orpheus drew trees,
stones, and floods ’ 9 ;

Julius Casar, 111/ ii. 234:

“ that; should move
The stones of Rome to rise and
mutiny ” ;

Hamlet , in. iv. 126:

" His form and cause conjoin’d,
..preaching to stones, . ,

Would make them capable p ; and
MzrfirM, III. iv. 123 :

"'Stones have been known to move
and trees to speak.”

24 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act i.

some measure. To the rest: — yet my chief
humour is for a tyrant: I could play Ercles 30
rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make
all split

29. To the rest: — yet] To the rest ; — yet, Theobald; To the rest yet , Qq, Ff.
31, cat] cap Warburton ; in , to] in ana to Keightley conj. 32, split. 'The]
split — the Theobald ; split the Qq, F 1,2, 3; split to F 4.

29. To the rest -yet] Go oil to name (1606), “A whole play of such tear*

the rest of the players. Yet, stop a cat thunderclaps.” Steevens remarks ;
moment, my chief humour, etc. Cf. “ In Middleton’s The Roaring Girl ,
41, post , 44 Now name the rest of 1611, v. 1, there is a character
the players.” And then Bottom further called * Tearcat,’ who says, 6 I am
interrupts. called by those who have seen my

30. Ercles ] “ In Greene’s Groats - valour Tear-cat.’” In an anonymous
worth of Wit, 1592, a player who is piece, called Histriomastix , Tbxo,
introduced says: 4 The twelue labors a captain says to a company of
of Hercules haue I terribly thundered players :

on the stage.’ ” Malone. “Henslowe, “ Sirrali, this is you would rend and
in his Diary, mentions The firste part of tear the cat

Herculous,’ a play acted in 1595, and Upon a stage, and now march like

afterwards, in the same manuscript, the a drown’d rat.”

‘two partes of Hercolus’ are named as (Act v. p, 73, ed. Simpson.)
the work of Martin Slather or Slaughter. 32. all split] Cf. The Tempest , 1, i.
In Sidney’s Arcadia, ed. 1598, i. 50: 65, 44 we split, we split!”; Beaumont

4 leaning his hands vpon his bill, and and Fletcher’s The Scornful Lady, n,
his chin vpon his hands, with the voyce iii., “Two roaring boys of Rome, that
of one that playeth Hercules in a play.’” make all split ” ; and their Wild Goose
Halliwell. 44 The part of Hercules Chase, v. vi., “ I love a sea voyage and
was like that of Herod in the Mysteries, a blustering tempest, and let all split.”
one in which the actor could indulge to Dyce says the phrase was a favourite
the utmost his passion for ranting.” expression with our old dramatists,
Wright In his Few Notes, 1853, P* 61, he

31. tear a cat] Apparently a pro- believes it has not been remarked that
verbial phrase for tearing a passion the expression is properly a nautical
to tatters (Hamlet, ill. ii. 10). Ed- phrase, and quotes Greene’s Neuer too
wards, Canons of Criticism, 1765, p. Late, sig. G3, ed. 1611,“ He set downe
52, thinks this a burlesque upon this period with such a sigh, that, as
Hercules’s killing a lion. Heath, the Marriners say, a man would hauc
Revisal of Shakespeare's Text, 176$, thought al would haue split agaim. ”
p. 45, takes Warburton’s emendation, Craig quotes Middleton’s Witch {ed.
“cap,” seriously, and supposes “it Dyce, Works, iii. 282), “ I ’ll make you
might not be unusual for a player, in eat your word, I’ll make all split else”;
the violence of his rant, sometimes to and his Roaring Girl, iv. ii. (ii, $18,
tear his cap.” 1 Capell takes Bottom ed. Dyce), “If I sail not with you both
seriously, and supposes “ he might have till all split,” This whole passage is
'seen ‘'Ercles ’ acted, and some strange further illustrated by Hamlet’s well**
thing lorn, which he mistook for a known advice to the players, ill. ih 1
cat,” Cf. Day’s The Isle of Cuts s$q.

C II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 25

“ The raging rocks,

And shivering shocks,

Shall break the locks 35

Of prison-gates ;

And* Phibbus’ car
Shall shine from far,

And make and mar

The foolish fates” 40

This was lofty ! — Now name the rest of the

players. — This is Erdes’ vein, a tyrants vein;

a lover is more condoling.

Quin. Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.

Flu. Here, Peter Quince. 45

Quin. Flute, you must take Thisby on you.

Flu. What is Thisby ? a wandering knight ?

Quin . It is the lady that Pyramus must love.

Flu. Nay, faith, let me not play a woman; I have

a beard coming, 50

33-40,] As in Johnson ; prose in Qq, Ff. 34. And} With Farmer conj,
43. !m>er\ loved s Hudson (Daniel . conj. ). 44, bellows-mender] Bellowes

mender F Q 1. 46. Flute,} Q 1 ; omitted Q 2, Ff.

33-40.] Printed as prose in the Qq,
Ff. I. am inclined to think Rolfe is
right in suggesting that the lines may be
a burlesque of a translation of Seneca’s
Hercules Furem, 1581. He quotes:
U Q Lord of ghosts t whose fiery dash .
That forth thy hand doth shake,
Doth cause the trembling lodges
twain ylt

Of Phoebus* car to shake
“ The roaring rocks have quaking
stirr’d,

And none thereat hath push’d ;
Hell gloomy gales I have brast ope
Where grisly ghosts ail hush’d
Have stood”

Shakespeare’s lines do not read like

a quotation ' from any actual play.
Surely. Shakespeare himself was quite
capable of- turning.' them out for the
purposes of this play.

37. Phibbus' ear} Cf. Antony and
Cleopatra, iv. viii. 28, “carbuncled
like, holy Fhcebus’ car ; and Cymbei-
me, v. v. 190, 191, “Phoebus’ wheel . . .
Been all the worth of ’s car.” Craig
thinks Shakespeare got the idea from
Golding’s Ovid’s Afetam,, Book in

47, wandering knight} Cf, 1 Henry
IK 1. ii 17, “Phoebus, he, that
wandering knight so fair.” Craig.

50, a beard coming} On the Eliza-
bethan stage female parts were played,
by boys. ' Craig refers 10 Lod;;C-

26 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

Quin. That ’s all one ; you shall play it in a mask,
and you may speak as small as you will.

BoU An I may hide my face, let me play Thisby
too : I ’ll speak in a monstrous little voice : —

“ Thisne, Thisne, — Ah, Fyramus, my lover dear ! 5 5

thy Thisby dear ! and lady dear ! ”

Quin . No, no; you must play Fyramus; and, Flute,
you Thisby.

Bot . Well, proceed.

Quin . Robin Starveling, the tailor. 60

Star . Here, Feter Quince.

Quin. Robin Starveling, you must play Thisby’s
mother. — Tom Snout, the tinker.

53. Ah] Pope ; And Qq, Ff, 54 - too} to Qq. 55* Thisne , Thisne]

Thisby, Thisby Hanmer. 60. tailor ] Tailer ? Q 1. 63. tmker ] 7 hiker l

Qi.

Rosalynde (ed, Newnes, 1902, p. 13), are printed in italic in the old copies,
“with that casting up his hand he felt as if they represented a proper name,
hair on his face, and perceiving his and so 4 Thisne ’ has been regarded as
beard to bud, for choler he began to a blunder of Bottom’s for Thisbe,
blush, and swore to himselfe that he But as he has the name right in the
would be no more subject to such very next line, it seems more probable
slavery.” Cf. the well-known passage that'' { Thisne 5 signifies * in this way ’ ;
in '44^,' “Thy face is and he then gives a specimen of how
■ valanced 'Since' 1 saw. thee last. 55 he would ' ; 1 aggravate 5 : "■ his ; ' . voice.':;

52. speak as small} Bottom’s “mon- ‘Thissen’ is given in Wright^bAtt-’/;
strous little voice,” 54, post. Cf. vincial Dictionary as equivalent to
■'Chaucer’s The Flower and. the Leaf, ‘in this manner A 'i;;and' ;< : thissens :,: ; is '.sob
180, “with voices sweet entuned and used in Norfolk.” Wright. Shake-
so smalle”; Merry Wives, I. i. 49, of speare may have written the word
Anne Page, “She has brown hair and simply “ thisen ” ; hence the corrup-
speaks small like a woman”; and tion.

King Lear, v. iii. 272, “Her voice 63, mother] “ There seems a double
was ever soft, Gentle, and low, an excel- forgetfulness of our poet in relation to
lent thing in woman.” Craig refers the characters of this Interlude. The
to Golding’s Ovid’s Metam ,, Book H. father and mother of Thisbe, and the
f. 2 1 {a) {ed. 1612) : “anon his voice father of Pyramus, are here mentioned,
began More shrill and small than for who do not appear at all in the Inter-
a man”; also to North’s Plutarch Jude; but ‘Wall’ and ‘Moonshine’
(ed. ih, 1595, p. 1007), “besides her are both employed in it, of whom there
voyce was small and trembling” (of is not the least notice taken here,”
'Cleopatra 'yV .Theobald. “What the modems call

55. “ Thisne, Thisne”) “The words a forgetfulness in the poet was in truth

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM 27

Snout Here, Peter Quince.

Quin, You, Pyramus* father ; myself, Thisby's father 6 5
Snug, the joiner, you, the lion's part:* — and, I
hope, here is a play fitted.

Snug, Have you the lion's part written ? pray you, if
it be, give it me, for I am slow of study.

Quin, You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but 70
roaring.

Bot Let me play the lion, too ; I will roar, that I will

do any man's heart good to hear me ; I will roar,

that I will make the duke say, “ Let him roar

again, let him roar again." 7 5

Quin . An you should do if too terribly, you would

fright the duchess and the ladies, that they would

shriek ; and that were enough to hang us all.

AIL That would hang us, every mother's son.

Bot I grant you, friends, if you should fright the 80

ladies out of their wits, they would have no

more discretion but to hang us: but I will

aggravate my voice so, that I will roar you as

gently as ' any sucking dove ; I will roar you

an ’fcwere any nightingale. 85

66,67. and) l hope, here] mtd l hope here Qq, and / hope there Ff, / hope there
Rowe (ed. 2) 69. it be] be F 1. 76. An] Capell ; And Q 1 ; f/Q 2, Ff.

So. frknd$]frknd F 4 ; if] Qq, if that Ff. ' S3, you] Qq, omitted Ff. 85.

an] Pope ; mid Qq, Ff. . ■ , ' ■ ’ ■

Ins judgement : [these parts] promised TV. it. iv, 175, Mrs. Quickly's “I
little, and had been long in expect- beseek you now, aggravate your
ance ; whereas Quince’s * Prologue ’ choler.”

and the other actors, ‘ Moonshine * and 84. sucking dove] It is idle to dis-
* Wall.* elevate and surprise/ 5 Capell, miss Bottom’s language, as some editors
w The introduction of Wall and Moon- do, on the ground mat it is “idle to
shine was an afterthought ; see in, i. try and convert intentional nonsense
59 and 67,’* Steevens, into sense.” Furness. In his “bottom-

83, aggravate] Bottomese for “ moder* isms 55 there is always some soul of
ate, 5 * or 'some such word. CL £ Henry sense if we observingly distil it out.

28 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acti.

Quin, You can play no part but Pyramus : for Pyramus
is a sweet-faced man ; a proper man, as one shall
see in a summer’s day ; a most lovely, gentleman-
like man ; therefore you must needs play Pyramus.

Bot. Well, I will undertake it What beard were I 90
best to play it in ?

Quin . Why, what you will.

Bot, I will discharge it in either your straw-
colour beard, your orange -tawny beard, your

94. co hurl Qq, colour'd Ff.

Here I think the expression must See also Hazlitt’s Dodsley (Old Plays),
refer to the manner in which young vii. 356: ‘as good a man as . . . e’er
doves are fed. Craig well compares went on neat’s leather, or as one shall
As You Like It , 1. ii. 97 sqq. : say, upon a summer’s day.’ See also

“Cel. Here comes Monsieur Le Day, The Blind Beggar of Bednal
Beau. Green (Works, Bullen, p. 114}.”

Bos. With his mouth full of 93, 94. straw-colour beard ] Haliiwell
news. says : * 1 'fhe custom of dying beards is

Cel. Which he will put on us, as frequently referred to. ‘ I have fitted
pigeons feed their young ” ; my divine and canonist, dyed their

and remarks : “ Le. with bill placed beards and all 9 — Silent Woman,
inside bill. Other young birds gape, Sometimes the beards were named after
and the parent birds drop in the food ; scriptural personages, the colours being
but pigeons feed differently, just as probably attributed as they were seen
they drink differently, viz. like horses, in old tapestries. * I ever thought by
without lifting their heads. Hence the his red beard he would prove a Judas’
young pigeon alone looks like a sucking — Insatiate Countess , 1613. ‘That
animal.” Abraham - coloured Trojon * is men-

85. an ’twere] as if it were. Cf. 'tioned in Soliman and Perseda , 1599;
Trozlus and Cressida, 1. ii. 188, “He and ‘a goodly, long, thick Abraham-
will weep you an ’twere a man born in colour’d "beard’ in Blurt, Master Con -
April.” “An” and “and” are fre- stable, 1602. Steevens has conjectured
quently confounded. that ‘ Abraham ’ may be a corruption of

87. sweet faced man] Craig refers to ‘auburn.’ A ‘ whay-coloured beard’
Marlowe’s Jew of Malta, rv. iv. (Works, and ‘a kane-coloured beard’ are men-
ed, Cunningham, p. 109), “ Is ’t not a tioned in the Merry Wives , 1602, the
sweet-fac’d youth, Pilia ? 55 and Shir- latter being conjectured by some to
ley’s Grateful Servant (Works, ed. signify a beard of the colour of cane,
Gifford, ii. 21 ). which would be nearly synonymous

87,88. as one shall see in a summer s with the straw- -coloured beard alluded
.Craig: says '“This proverbial ex- to by Bottom.” J

pression is found in Henry V. in, vi. 94. orange-tawny] Cf. m. L 1x5.
67 ; ’and see The Two Angry Wo mm Cotgrave has “ Orange ; m. . ee. f.
of Ahington, 1, v, 99 (Henry Porter), orange-tawnie, orange-coloured.” ;

sc. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM. 29

purple-in-grain beard, or your French crown colour 95
beard, your perfect yellow.

Quin, Some of your French crowns have no hair at all,
and then you will play bare-faced. — -But, masters,
here are your parts : and I am to entreat you,
request you, and desire you, to con them by to- 1 00
morrow night ; and meet me in the palace wood,
a mile without the town, by moonlight ; there
will we rehearse : for if we meet in the city, we
shall be dogged with company, and our devices
known. In the meantime 1 will draw a bill of 105

96. perfect] Ff, perfit Qq. 103. will we] Q I ; we will Q 2, Ff.

95* purpledn-gmin beard } a beard
dyed purple,, or some shade of red.
Cotgrave gives fc ‘ Migraine : scarlet or
purple in grained 5 The best explana-
tion of the phrase will be found in
Marsh’s Lectures on the English Lan-
guage* 1S60, p. 67: a A species of oak
or ilex (Quercus coccifera ) is frequented
by an insect of the genus coccus* which,
when dried, furnishes a variety of red
dyes, and which, from its seed-like
form, was called in later Latin granum *
in Spanish grana f an dgraine in French;
from one of these is derived the English
word grain, which, as a colouring
material, strictly taken, means the dye
produced by the coccus insect, often
called in the arts kermes [the Arabic
and Persian name of the insect] . . .
The colour obtained from kermes or
grain was peculiarly durable ; , . .
another phrase was afterwards applied
to other colours as expressing their
durability. ^Thus in Comedy of Errors ,
in. ii. 107, when Antipholus says,

4 That *s a fault that water will mend.’
e No, sir/ Dromio replies, * his in
grain ; Noah’s flood could not do it/
And again in Twelfth Night* t. v. 2J3,
when Viola insinuates that Olivia’s
complexion had been improved by arr,

the latter replies, °Tis in grain, sir;
’twill endure wind and weather/
When the original sense of grain grew
less familiar, it was used chiefly as ex-
pressive o ffastmss uf colour ; and dyea
in 'grain* originally meaning dyed with
kermes, then dyed with fa st colour,
came at last to signify dyed in the wool
or raw material. The verb Ingram*
meaning to incorporate a colour or
quality with the natural substance,
comes from grain used in this last
sense.” "Craig refers to Cole’s Lai,
Diet.* 1764, cocinnus* in grain; and
Edwards’s Damon and Pitheas , i. 57,
HazHtt’s Dodsley, iv. 207. “a villain
for his life, a varlet died in grain”;
also Holland’s Pliny* Book xvii. , ed.
1601, p. 461, for a curious note on
scarlet graine ; and Norths Plutarch*
1595* P* 37* “For he ever wore a coat
of purple in grain."

95. French crown colour] the yellow-
ish colour of a gold coin. Quince’s
reply refers to the baldness which re-
sulted from a certain disease then sup-
posed to be more prevalent in France
than elsewhere.

102. -without} a locative use. Cf.
iv. h 1 50. ' “ without the peri! of the
' heniai law

30 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acti.

properties, such as our play wants. I pray you,
fail me not.

Bot We will meet ; and there we may rehearse most
obscenely and courageously. Take pains ; be
perfect : adieu. no

Quin. At the duke's oak we meet.

Bot Enough ; hold or cut bow-strings. [Exeunt

ig8. most] Q I ; more Q 2, Ff. 109,110. Take . . , adieu] given to Quince
by Singer (ed. 2), (Collier). 109. pams] Qq, F I ; paine F 2, 3, 4. no.
perfect ] Ff, per jit Qq. 1 12. hold or cut ] break or not Hanmer conj. MS.

106. properties ] The stage requisites
of costume or furniture. In Hens-
lowe’s Diary (p. 273, Shak. Soc.),
there is an “ En ventary tacken of all
the properties for my Lord Admiralles
men, the 10 of Marche 1598,” wherein
we find such items as £f j rocke, 3 cage,
j tombe, j Hell mought (i.e. mouth).”
Again, “ Item, ij marchpanes, & the
sittie of Rome.” f< Item, j wooden
canepie ; owld Mahemetes head,” etc.
See Halliwell, ad toe., and Collier’s
Eng. Dram . Poetry , iii. 159. See also
note on “ tiring-house,” in. i. 4.

109. obscenely] It is not quite certain
what word Bottom meant, but prob-
ably it was “seemly.” See Love's
Labour’s Lost , IV. i. 145, for a similar
misuse, “When it comes so smoothly
off, so obscenely, as it were, so fit. ”

109-1 11. Take pains . . . meet] Collier
thought these words should be given to
Quince, as the: manager,' rather "than to
: Bottom 'j: .'but. '-the ...assumption of the
'managers.., duty is entirely . character-
istic of Bottom.

in. duke’s oak } Halliwell thinks
these localities, “the palace wood”
(101), and “the duke’s oak,” bear
some appearance of being derived from
English sources, and that they may
have been names of places familiar to
Shakespeare in ( his own country. Cf.
Heme’s oak in the Merry Wives , v.

.'Bo, etc, ' ■ “'It . was in : Shake-
• speare’s day in Warwickshire, and it
still is the custom in many parts of

England to give such names to large
oaks : was this in Shakespeare’s mind
here ? ” (Craig). I think it is extremely
probable.

1 12. hold or cut bow-strings] “To
meet, whether bow-strings hold or are
cut , is to meet in all events. ‘He
hath twice or thrice cut Cupid’s bow-
string,’ says Don Pedro in Much Ado,
in. ii. 10, ‘and the little hangman
dare not shoot at him,’” Malone.
Capell’s explanation, though generally
adopted, does not seem authoritative:
“When a party was made at butts,
assurance of meeting was given in the
words of that phrase : the sense of the
person using them being, that he would
hold or keep promise, or they might
cut his bow-strings, demolish him for an
archer.” Malone’s explanation is much
superior to Capell’s. Bottom’s final
reply to Quince is : “ Enough said ;
we will not fail to meet at the duke’s
oak— “in any event — in any weather —
whether bow-strings hold or cut”
“Hold” and “cut” in this passage
are, I think, examples of the “middle”
voice, or, more accurately, perhaps,
of transitives used intransitively. In
very wet weather the bow-string, if not
protected, would be more liable to
fray and snap asunder. It will be re-
membered that the English archers at
Cr e$y protected their strings during the
thunderstorm which preceded the battle,
while the Genoese bowmen did not.
If the phrase is not proverbial,— -and I

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 3i

ACT II

SCENE L — A Wood near Athens .

Enter , from opposite sides , a Fairy and PUCK.

Puck How now, fair spirit ! whither wander you?

Fai Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire, 5

Act II Scene /.] Rowe, Actus Secundus Ff, omitted Qq. A wood . . .]
Capell Enter . . .] Enter a Fairie at one doore, and Robin Goodfellow at
another Qq, Ff. 1. Puck.] Rowe, Robin Qq, Rob. Ff ; spirit /] fair spirit
Editor ; whither] whether Q 2, F. 2-9.] So arranged by Pope, but as four lines
in Qq, Ff. 3, 5. Thorough] Q 1 ; Through Q 2, Ff.

hardly think it is, — Shakespeare, who
must have had a sound knowledge of
archery, was quite capable of inventing
it for the occasion, . See Rushton’s
Shakespeare an Archer, 1S97.

Act II Seem I.

i.] It is not by any means certain that
this line is not pure blank verse, and
that a word has not dropped out before
“spirit.” Cf, 1* i. 180, “Godspeed,
fair Helena! Whither away?” It is
noteworthy that Puck uses only plain
blank verse in this scene ; and it is
not till line 66 of scene ii. of this Act
that he adopts a lyric measure. Cf.
O heron’s change from his lyric incanta*
tion, iv. i. 76-79, to the plain iambic
of line 80. Another view is that
“spirit,” and “whither” must be
treated as monosyllables. See the
note on line 33 of this scene, and
Walker, Crif. i. 183, and Vers. 103.

2-17.3 Coleridge has been aptly
quoted as saying that “this measure

had been -invented and employed by
Shakespeare for the sake of its appro-
priateness to the rapid and airy motion
of the fairy by whom the speech is
delivered.” .Note the swift rush of the
rhythm caused by the use of the amphi-
' spacer {-«-) ■ .in lines 2-5, followed
by the transition (lines ' 6-1,3} t0 the
trochaic ''measure, .indicating, the 'fairy's
service . of the queert, , necessarily, less"
rapid ; and,. finally (lines 14-17), the
slower and statelier iambic measure
suitable for a farewell to the “lob of
spirits.”

3,. 5. Thorough] the reading of Q 1,
and rightly, for the sake of the metre,
asin line 106 of .this ■ .scene, f There'-is
a dose resemblance to these lines, as
Halliwell points out, in Spenser,
Faerie Queene, vi. 285, “‘through
hills and dales, through bushes and
through briers ” ; the imitation being
probably Spenser’s ; and Drayton
imitated them in his Nympkidi* ( 1627),
309-51 6.

32 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act a.

I do wander everywhere,

Swifter than the moones sphere ;

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green :

The cowslips tall her pensioners be; io

7. than] Q 1, then F ; moones ] Steevens, Malone, Var., White ii, ; moons F ;
tnoony Grant White (Steevens conj.), Hudson. 10. tali'] all Collier.

7. moones ] Clearly a disyllable, and
an example of the inflected M. E.
genitive. The uncontracted form was
probably becoming obsolete in Shake-
speare’s time. So “nightes shade,”
iv. i. 107 of this play ; “whales bone,”
Love's Labour's Lost, v. ii. 332, and
Spenser’s Faerie Queene , ill. i. 15;
“Earthes increase, ” Tempest, iv. i.
no. Steevens quotes a passage from
Sidney’s Arcadia, Book ii. p. 262
(1598), “Your presence, sister deare,
first to my moony spheare.” Hudson
adopts “moony sphere” on the
ground, not only that it is a common
poetical phrase, but that it is certain
Shakespeare would not have allowed,
among lines of exquisite music, a line
so unrhythmical as this as it stands in
the Folio. The true explanation of
the form “moones” is, I think, that
it is a reminiscence of Shakespeare’s
perusal of the KnighUs Tale . See
Introduction.

7. sphere ] In the Ptolemaic system
of astronomy, which prevailed when
Shakespeare wrote, the earth was con-
ceived as the centre of nine or ten
consecutive hollow crystalline spheres
or globes, which rotated round it, car-
rying the moon planets and fixed stars.
These spheres or globes were supposed
to be swung bodily round the earth
in twenty-four hours by the top sphere,
the primum mobile , thus making an
entire revolution in a day and night.
See Furnivall, New Shak. Soc. Trans*
{1877-79), p. 431. Cf. Tempest , 11. i,
183, “you would lift the moon out of
her sphere ” {with reference to the fee-
• lief ,1a ifee power of a magician over

the heavenly bodies) ; and Marlowe’s
Faustus, ed. Dyce, 1862, p. 83: “Be
it to make the moon drop from her
sphere.”

9. dew her orbs ] Halliwell explains
orbs as “the well-known circles of
dark-green grass frequently seen in old
pasture-fields, generally called f fairy-
rings,’ and supposed to be created by
the growth of a species of fungus, Aga-
ricus orcades, Linn. These circles are
usually from four to eight feet broad, and
from six to twelve feet in diameter, and
are more prominently marked in summer
than in winter.” The latest scientific
explanation is that of Mr. Sidney Turner
(. British Med. Journal, 28th July 1894),
who considers that the “so-called ‘ fairy -
rings ’ were produced by the better and
more vigorous growth of the grass,
owing to the excess of nitrogen afforded
by the fungi, which composed the ring
of the previous year.” Cf. Merry
Wives, v. v* 69 :

“ And nightly, meadow-fairies, look
you sing,

■: Like to the Garter’s ';ebmpass,dii' 'a V
ring”;

and Tempest, v, i. 36:

“you demi -puppets that
By moonshine do the green-sour
ringlets make,

Whereof the ewe not bites.”

See also Douce {Illustrations of Shake-
speare, i. 180), Brand’s Popular Antiqq.
ii. 4S0 (Bohn), and Dyer, Folk-lore of
SftdMespe&rSi^ iC' ^ iv- : ri

10. cowslips . . . pemiomrsj John-,
son says the cowslip was a favourite
among the fairies. The allusion is
probably to the Queen’s bmd of gentle-

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM 33

In their gold coats spots you see ;

Those be rubies, fairy favours,

In those freckles live their savours :

I must go seek some dew-drops here and there,

And hang a pearl m every cowslip’s ear. 1 5

Farewell, thou lob of spirits, 1 11 be gone ;

Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

Puck. The king doth keep his revels here to-night ;

Take heed the queen come not within his sight;

ii. coats] cups Collier, 14, here and there] Iianmer ; here Qq, Ff ; dear

Daniel conj.

men pensioners, composed of the hand-
somest and tallest young men, selected
from the best families, and with large
fortunes, Cf. Merry Wives, 11. ii, 79,
“and jet there has been earls, nay,
which is more, pensioners/ 1 “In the
month of December, 1539,'” says Stowe,
Annals , p. 973 (ed. 1615), “were
appointed to waite- upon,' the King’s
person fifty, gentlemen called Pensioners
ot. Spemts, like as they. were, in the
first yeare of the King.”

11, gold coats] Cf. 1 Henry IV. iv.
i, 29, “glittering in golden coats like
images” {of the “madcap Prince of
Wales and his comrades ”).

II, 12. spots . . . rubies] Probably
the well-known spots of a deeper yellow,
verging to a crimson shade, at the
bottom of each leaf or petal. Cf.
Cymbeline, 11. ii. 37 :

“ On her left breast
A mole cinque-spotted, like the
crimson drops

r tlr bet om of a cowslip.” ^ ... /

13. freckles] Cf. Hemy V. v, ii. 49,
“The freckled cowslip, burnet, and
green clover/ 5

14. here and there] Hanmer’s reading
is supported by in, ii. 381, “ghosts
wandering here and there ” ; and
if the rhyme of lines 14 and 15 be
objected to, the reply is that Shake-
speare has contented himself with it

3

in in. ii. 411, 412. See also n. ii.
135, 136. Marlowe, Hero and Le under,
first sestiad, 59, 60, rhymes “sphere”
and “there/ 5

15. hang a pearl | Cf. I. i. 2ir, ante,
and Romeo and Juliet , 1. v. 48, “like
a rich jewel in an Ethiopc’s car.”
Ilalliwel! thinks there are two allusions
in the line — (t } to the custom of
wearing pearls in the ears; {2) to the
notion of the old naturalists that the
dewdrop- was the commencing form, of
the pearl. See Holland’s Pliny , Book
ix. cap. 35. The passage is imitated
in an anonymous play, The Wisdoms
of Doctor Body poll {1600), iii. 5 :

' “ ’Twas I .that led you through the
painted meads,

Where .the light fairies danced upon
the flowers, .

Hanging on. every leaf an orient
pearl/

16. lob] here used by the fairy as
descriptive, of the contrast; .between
Puck’s larger and rougher figure and
the airy .and delicate shapes of the
other elves, at least of those attendant
on Titania. Puck is not like the
ethereal Titania, “a spirit of no com-
mon rate,” in. h 157, post. The word
is the Celtic l lob, a clown or dolt, used
with a reference to size or awkwardness.
Cf. the “ luhbar-fiend ” and his “hairy
strength M of Milton’s It Allegro, no.

34 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acth.

For Oberon is passing fell and wrath. 20

Because that she, as her attendant, hath
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king ;

She never had so sweet a changeling :

And jealous Oberon would have the child

Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild: 25

But she, perforce, withholds the loved boy,

Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her
joy:

And now they never meet in grove, or green,

By fountain clear, or spangled star-light sheen,

But they do square ; that all their elves, for
fear, 30

Creep into acorn-cups, and hide them there.

23, changeling •] a child (usually stupid
or ugly) supposed to have been left by
fairies in exchange for one stolen,
New Eng, Diet See Spenser, Faerie
Queene, 1. x. 65, “Such, men do
chaimgelings call, so dialing’ d by Faeries
theft.” Johnson remarks : “This is
commonly used for the child supposed
to be left by the fairies, but here for
the child taken away.” See Drake,

:■ 'Shakespeare and his Times y ii, 325,
and Introduction. Titania’s reference
to the boy hardly bears out the fairy’s
account. See lines 123-136, post.
The word is a trisyllable in this line,
but in 120, post it is probably only a
disyllabic.

25. to trace] Cf. Much Ado, in. i
16, “as we do trace this alley up and
down” ; and Milton, Camus , 423,
“may trace huge forests and unhar-
boured heaths,” I agree with Furness
in thinking that there is here a refer-
' ence to hunting or tracking game,
rather than merely “traversing” or
“wandering through.”

; •; 27, all her joy] Cf. iv. i, 4, “ my
gentle joy,”

29. sheen] a substantive, “bright-
ness, ” “ fairn css. ” Anglo - Saxon scene y
Mid. Eng. schene t fair, Ger. schlm.
Some editors consider the word to be
an adjective in this passage ; but Milton
certainly uses it as a substantive in
Comus, 1003 ;

“ But far above in spangled
sheen,

Celestial Cupid, her fam’d son,
advanc’d.”

; 30. : square] ; quarrel, . : 'Square ' ; their
shoulders, come to high words. In
Shakespeare’s time the word was also
in common use as a substantive. Cot-
grave gives “ Se quarrer : to strout, or
square it, looks big on’t, carrie his
armes a-kemboll braggadochio-like. ”
Cf. Antony and Cleopatra , II. i, 45,
“’Twere pregnant they should square
between themselves” ; and m, xiii. 41,
“ Mine honesty and I begin to square.”
Craig refers to North’s Plutarch (ed. 2,
1595), Life of Fabius , “Hannibal
hearing of their Jarre and squaring
' together, .sought straight oppoxtomtie
to make their discord finely .to' serve
his. tone.” ' , v', ; ; ,vv

SC, I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM

35

Fai, Either I mistake your shape and making quite,

Or else you are th&t shrewd and knavish sprite

Call'd Robin Good-fellow : are not you he

That frights the maidens of the villagery ; 3 5

Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern,

And bootless make the breathless housewife churn ;

And sometime make the drink to bear no barm ;

32. Either ] Or Pope. 33. sprite] Q 1 ; spirit Q 2, Ff. 34. not you]
Q 1 ; you not Q 2, Ff. 35. frights] fright F 3, 4 ; •villagery ] villager ee Q 1 ;
villagree Q 2, F I, 2, 3 ; vilagree F 4. 36-39. Skim . . . labour . . . make

. , make . ■ Mislead] Qq, Ff; Shims . . . labours . . . makes , , . makes

. .. .. . [Misleads Collier (Malone coni. ). 36. sometimes] sometime Dyce (ed. z).

3 Either] contracted into a mono*
syllable in pronunciation. Cf. it. u,
156, and see Walker, Vers. 103, for
instances of such contractions.

33. sprite] So printed in Q 1.
Walker, CriU i. 193,, remarks: .‘‘It
may safely be laid, down as a canon'
that the word 4 spirit’ in our old poets,
wherever the. metre does not compel
us to pronounce it disyilabically, is a
monosyllable.” Cf. line 1 of this scene,
and. see Mw'beihg iy, i. 1.27, Come, •
sisters* cheer we up his .sprites ”
(although Shakespeare may not have
written this line).

34. Sabin Goodfdtow] See Intro-
duction.

3 S* 36 * frights • * • Skim . . .
labour] m example of a change of con-
struction, perhaps caused by a change
of thought, and common enough in
Shakespeare, Abbott thinks," and
rightly, that the transition is natural
from Are you he that, frights? to Do
not yon skim , . * labour? See also
Exodus vi. 7.

35. villagery] village folk, peasantry,
Johnson thought the word meant; a
district of villages, but it seems rather
to mean a number of “ villagers,”
Hence the “ maidens of the villagery ”
simply means peasant maids, or, as John-
son himself calls them, country-girls.

36. 37-3 Johnson thought the sense of
these lines was confused, on the ground

that the mention of the ‘‘quern.” or
hand-mill, was out . of place, as the
fairy was not telling ' the good but the
evil done by Robin. Hence ' he pro-
posed- to transpose the lines, or read,

14 And sometimes make.. the breathless
housewife chern

Skint milk and bootless labour in
the quern.”

But, as Ritson correctly points out, we
must understand all these to be .mischiev-
ous pranks. Robin skims the milk
when, it ought, not to be skimmed, and
grinds.. the corn when it is not wanted.,
36. quern] Anglo-Saxon cwmrn, a
hand-mill, for grinding com, in its most
primitive form, consisting, as Hall i well
points: out, of .a revolving stone worked,
by a handle .moving in the circular cup
of a larger- one. See Chaucer, Menkes
Tale, C\ r.» 3264 (ed. Pollard), of Sam-
son, “ Where as they made hym at the
qiierne gryncle.” Johnson and Boswell
- in their respective Tours- in t$e Hebrides,
make mention of thisJpri.mitive Vhqase-.-- '
hpid-iiistruineBt. :■ J '

3$. barm] yeast, leaven, a provincial
term yet used, as Steevens remarked,
in the Midland counties, and univer-
sally in Ireland. Cotgrave has “Leve*
ton : m. Yeast, or Banned 1 £< The froth
or harme . . . [has] a property to
keepe the skin Sure and cleare in
women’s laces,” Holland, Pliny {1601),
»• ! ' 4 S*

36 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act n

Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm ?

Those that Hobgoblin call yow, and sweet Fuck, 40
You do their work, and they shall have good luck :

Are not you he?

Puck. Fairy, thou*speak’st aright;

I am that merry wanderer of the night,

I jest to Oberon, and make him smile,

When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile, 45

Neighing in likeness of a filly foal :

And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl,

42. Fairy , thou] Collier ; The same, thou Hanmer ; I am thoti Johnson ; spirit

thou Editor conj.; speakst] speakest Q I,
nighf\ One line in Qq. 46. fiUy]
bole Qq, F 1, 2, 3.

39. Mislead ] Of. Caliban in The
Tempest , 11. ii. 6 :

“ Nor lead me, like a firebrand, in
the dark,

Out of my way ” ;

Ariel’s pranks in iv. i. 178 sqq. ; also
iv* i. 197, “played the Jack, i.e. the
Jack o’ lantern. Milton has imitated
this passage of the Midsummer-Nigh? s
Dream in his Paradise Lost , ix. 634,
“mislead the maz’d night - wanderer
from his way. ”

40. Hobgoblin . . . and sweet Puck ]
“ Robin Goodfellow and Hob goblin
were as terrible ... as hags and
witches /. 'be now,” Reginald Scot, Dis-
covery of Witchcraft (1584), Vli. ii. 105.
It will be remembered that “Puck”
means simply “fiend” or “devil,”
hence the propitiatory epithet is not
superfluous. See Introduction.

42.] The metre is certainly defective.
I agree with Dyce in thinking that the
introduction of the word “Fairy” at
the commencement of Puck’s reply is
“far better than the other attempts that
have been made to complete the metre.”
The “spirit ” of line 1, ante, is probably
the next best reading. The idea of a
pause being “ naturally ” made before
the reply to the fairy’s question as

eakest me Capell. 42, 43. thou . . .

I ; silly Q 2, Ff. 47. bowl ] F 4 ;

being intended to take the place of the
missing foot, which is the idea of R. G.
White, Abbott, and Furness, is out of
the question. A pause on Puck’s part
would be anything but natural to Puck.

46. filly foal ] “ filly ” is the reading of
Q 1, and is almost certainly correct, and
for obvious reasons. Furness, as usual,
“ sees no reason for deserting the Folio.”

47 * gossip's bowl] Cf. Romeo and
Juliet , in. v. 175, “ utter your gravity
o’er a gossip’s bowl.” “Originally a
christening-cup; for a gossip or 4 god-
sib . ’ . . was properly . a '■ sponsor..' ; , Hence
from signifying those who were associ-
ated at the festivities of a christening
it came to denote generally those who
were accustomed to make merry to-
gether,” Wright. Archbishop Trench
(. English Past and Present , 204, ed. 4)
mentions that the word retains its
original signification among the peas-
antry of Hampshire. Warton, in his
note to Milton’s V Allegro , 100, is prob-
ably correct in identifying the “spicy
nut-brown ale” with the “gossip’s
bowl” of Shakespeare. “The com-
position was ale, nutmeg, sugar, toast,
and roasted crabs or apples. It was
called lambs-wool.” Cf. the “dogV
nose ” of The Pickwick Papers^ ch, 33*

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM

In very likeness of a roasted crab ;

And, when she driftks, against her lips I bob,

And on her wither’d dew-lap pour the ale. 50

The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,

Sometime for three- foot stool mistaketh me;

Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,

And “ tailor ” cries, and falls into a cough ;

49, boh] bab Gould conj. 50, dew-lap] Rowe (ed. 2} ; dnodop Qq, Ff.
54. “tailor"] rails or Hanraer; traitor Perring conj. 54, 55. cough , . .
laugh] caffe * » . Ioffe Qq, Ff.

48. crab] the wild apple. See King
:Lear t 1., ,v. 16, “ For though she ’s as
like this as a crab ’s like an apple, yet I
can tell, what I can tell.” Halliweil
quotes from Parkinson’s Theat. Botani -
mM s 1640, “ the fruite is generally small
and very sower, yet some more .than
others, which the country people, to
amend., doe generally rost them at the
fire, and make ' them, their winter’s
junckets.” No doubt the “gossip’s
bo-wi” was included in the “ winter
cheer” of “the human mortals,” line.
181, post. For the rhyme of “crab”
with “bob, 15 of. the pronunciation of
“ throstle 11 in ill. i. 130.

51. wisest aunt] In this passage, the
wisest or most sedate old dame or
gossip; but “aunt” is frequently ap-
plied to a bawd or loose woman. See,
in particular, the “ summer songs for
me and my aunts” of Autolycus jin
Winter's Tale , iv. jit, 2.

saddest tale 1 Cf. Richard II,
V, i. 40 ;

“ In winter 1 s tedious nights sit by the
A. v ..fire:; A'

With good old folks, and let them
tell thee tales

Of woful ages long ago betid * ;
and Winter's Tale , H* i. 25, “a sad
tale *s best for winter, ”

54, “tailor'*] Johnson observes:
“The custom of crying 1 tailor 5 at a
sudden fall backwards I think 1 re-
member to have observed. lie that
slips beside his chair fulls as a tailor
squats upon his board ” : a very doubt-

ful explanation. Equally unsatisfactory
is the suggestion of Furness, who says
that “ the slight substitution of an e for
an 0 in the word e tailor 5 will show that,
as boys in swimming take a 4 header,’
the ‘ wisest aunt’ was subjected to the
opposite.” Halliweil is very much
nearer the .mark when he says: ‘‘The
expression is probably one of contempt,
equivalent to 4 thief,’ and possibly a
corruption of the older word ‘ taylard,’
which occurs in the Romance of Richard
Cmtrde Lion, where two French justices
term that sovereign, when reviling him,
a 1 taylard,* upon which the choleric
monarch instantly clove the skull of the
first and nearly- killed the second.” The
Elizabethan use of the term, .as one of
contempt, appears to be confirmed by
the. following, passage in Pasquifs Might
Cap y 1612 :

“ Thieving is now an occupation
. made, ■■

Though men the name of tailor
; ";doe It give.” . , ; '

And see the’ passage in Middleton’s
Changeling, 1. ii. 161 (vol. vi. 23, ed.
Ruiien),“ How many true” [ue. honest]
“ fingers has a tailor on his right hand ? 51
Ant, “ As many as on his left, cousin.”
“ Tailor,” meaning “ thief,” would be
a natural enough expression even for
the “ wisest aunt ” to utter against the
“practical joker” who had deprived
her of her stool. The word is prob-
ably derived from the French “ tailler,”
to cut : ct “ cut purse.”

54 , 55 * * * * kwg&i “In the

38

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acth.

And then the whole quire hold their hips, and laugh; 5 5
And waxen in their mirth, ancFneeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.

But room, good fairy ! here comes Oberon.

Fai. And here my mistress. Would that he were
gone !

Enter , from one side , OBERON, with his train ; from
the other , TITANIA, with hers .

Obe . Ill met by moon-light, proud Titania. 60

58. room] make room Pope, room now Dyce (ed. 2), roomer Nicholson conj.
(Notes and Queries, 1864); good fairy] Editor, fair fairy Editor conj. ; fahy
Staunton (Johnson conj.) ; room, fahy ! here] fairy, room, for here Seymour conj.
59.] Two lines in Ff ; he] Qq, F 1 ; we F 2, 3, 4. 60.] Two lines in Ff. Scene

//.] Pope. Enter . . .] Enter the King of Fairies, at one doore with his traine ;
and the Queene, at another with hers Qq, Ff.

present spelling” (i.e. coffe ... Ioffe sake, which is certainly preferable to
of the Qq, Ff) “I think we have,” the usual modern emendation 'make
says Furness, “as Capell suggests, a room. 5 To print ‘But room, faery, 5 is
phonetic attempt to reproduce the ro- too ridiculous. 55 I quite agree with
bustious laughter of boors . . . and Dyce. Nicholson’s “ roomer, 55 “ a sea
‘Ioffe 5 should be retained in the text. 55 phrase, 55 is, to say the least, fantastic ;
However, little is to be gained by dis- though Daniel thinks the conjecture
carding the modern spelling, as it is excellent, and quotes from The Merry
difficult, if not impossible, to fix the Devil of Edmonton, vol. x. Hazlitt’s
exact pronunciation of “laugh” or Dodsley, p. 253, “If the devil be
“laughter 55 in Shakespeare’s time, among us, it 5 s time to hoist sail and
See Ellis , Early English Pronuncia- cry ‘ roomer. 5 ” Furness, as usual, will
tion, p. 963. have no change, considering that “the

56. neeze] a form of “sneeze,” break in the line affords sufficient pause

Anglo-Saxon niesan. Cotgrave, “Ester- to fill up the metre.” It is certain that
nuer : To neeze or sneeze.” C f. 2 some word has fallen out of the
Kings iv. 35, where “neesed” is the line, and the epithet “good,” which
original text ; and Job xli. 18, “ nees- comes nearest to the trace of the letters
ings.” of “ room,” and also near it in sound,

57. wasted] Of. The Tempest, v. i. and was therefore more likely to escape

302, “ part of it (the night) I ’ll waste the compositor’s eye or ear, would most
with such discourse.” appropriately be applied, and with

58. good fairy] The attempts to ex- patronising effect by Oberon’s own
plain or amend this defective line have lieutenant and right-hand man to an
been most unsatisfactory. Johnson ordinary fairy, even though the personal
thought “ fairy or faery was sometimes attendant of Titania. Cf. iv. i. 51,
of three syllables, as often in Spenser.” “Welcome, good Robin,”

Dyce “ inserted c now 5 for the metre’s

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 39

Tit a. What, jealous Oberon? Fairies, skip hence;

I have forsworn hj# bed and company.

Obe. Tarry, rash wanton ; am not I thy lord ?

Tita, Then I must be thy lady: but I know

When thou hast stolen away from fairy land, 65
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,

Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,

Come from the farthest steep of India?

But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, 70

61. Tita.] Tit. Capell ; Qu. Qq, Ff (and elsewhere) ; Fairies , skip'] Theobald ;
Fahy skip Qq, Ff. {skippe Q i) ; Fairies , keep Harness conj. ; Fairies , trip Dyce
conj. 65. hast ] wast Ff. 69. steep] steppe Q I ; steepe Q 2, Ff.

61. Fairies , skip ] Theobald’s change 67. versing love] For the intransitive
from the “Fairy, skip” of the Folio; sense, see Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for
a change which has been adopted by Poetrie (ed. Arber, p. 29), “It is not
nearly all editors. Capell, however, riming and versing that inaketh a Poet,”
defends the Folio reading on the ground etc. Craig refers to Milton’s Reason
that the fairy there addressed is Tit- of Church- Government (Prose Works,
ania’s “leading fairy, her gentleman vol. i. p. 62, ed. 1753), “mine own
usher, whose moving-off would be a choice in English, or other tongue,
signal for all the rest of the train.” prosing or versing.”

The reading “ fairy ” probably took its 69. steep] So Q 2 and Ff. “ Steppe,”
rise in the elision of the final syllable the reading of Q 1, has not met with
of the plural before the consonant— in general acceptance, on the ground that
this case the same consonant — in the the word was not known in Shake-
next word. This is a very frequent speare’s day, or at least used in the
source of error. sense of a vast plain, and this is also

66, 68. Corin , Phillida] Perhaps Dr. Murray’s view. The idea in

Shakespeare obtained these pastoral Shakespeare’s mind was perhaps that
names from the English pastoral which of a lofty and precipitous range of
appeared in TotteVs Miscellany , 1557, mountains forming the extreme eastern
with the title “ Harpalus’ Complaint of boundary of India ; and if this be so,
Phillida’s Love bestowed on Corin that “steep” is undoubtedly preferable,
loved her not, and denied him that The Globe edition and the Cambridge
loved her.” editors read “ steppe.” Cf. Marlowe’s

67. pipes of corn] The Vergilian Hero and Leander, i. 116 (Builen),
“avena.” Ritson quotes Chaucer’s “ From steep pine bearing mountains
House of Fame, iii. 133 (ed. Morris) : to the plain. Milton apparently pre-

“ Many fiowte and liltyng home ferred “ steep.” See Comus , 139*.

And pipes made of grene come.” “ Ere the blabbing Eastern scout,

Cf. “when shepherds pipe on oaten The nice Mom, on the Indian
straws,” Love's Labour's Lost } v. ii. steep

913. From her cabined loophole peep.”

40 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actu

Your buskin’d mistress, and your warrior love,

To Theseus must be wedded ; € and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.

Obe. How canst thou thus, for shame, Titania,

Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, 75

Knowing I know thy love to Theseus ?

Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering
night

From Perigouna, whom he ravished ?

And make him with fair Aegles break his faith,

With Ariadne, and Antiopa? 80

Tita . These are the forgeries of jealousy :

77. through the glimmering ] glimmering through the Warburton. 78. Peri-
gonna ] North’s Plutarch , Grant White ; Perigenia F I ; Perigune Pope {ed. 2)
(Theobald); Perigyni Hanmer. 79. Aegles ] Eagles Qq, Ff ; Aegle Rowe.
80. Antiopa ] Atiopa F I.

75. Glance at] hint at, indirectly at- the priest of Bacchus ; and they thinke
tack, Wright. Cf. Comedy of Errors, that Theseus left her, because he was
v. i. 66, “ In company I often glanced in love with another, as by these verses
at it ” ; and Julius Ccesar, 1. ii. 323, should appeare :

“wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition 4 Aegles, the Nymph, was loved of
shall be glanced at.” Theseus,

77. glimmering] Cf. Macbeth , in. Who was the daughter of Pano-

iii. 5, “The west yet glimmers with peus.’”

some streaks of day. ’ North’s Plutarch , ed. 2 (1595), p. 10.

78. Perigouna] “This Sinnis had a 80. Antiopa] “ Philochorus, and
goodly faire daughter called Perigouna, some other holde opinion, that [The-
which fled away when she saw her seiis] went thither with Hercules
father slaine. . . . But Theseus finding against the Amazones ; and that to
her, called her, and sware by his faith honor his valiantnes Hercules gave
he would use her gently, and do her no him Antiopa the Amazone. . . . Bion
hurt, nor displeasure at all.” North’s . . . saith that he brought her away
Plutarch, ed. 2 (1595), p. 3. I see by deceit and stealth, . . . and that
no reason for departing from the Theseus enticed her to come into his
spelling of Plutarch. Shakespeare had ship, who brought him a present ; and
nothing to gain, either in rhythm or so soon as she was aboord, he hoysed his
otherwise, by altering the spelling. sail, and so carried her away.” North’s

79. Aegles] “For some say that Plutarch, d. 2 (1595), p. 14.

Ariadne hung herself for sorrow, when 81-117.] See Introduction. A brief
she saw that Theseus had cast her off. analysis of Titaria’s description of the
Others write, that she was transported “ distemperature ” of the seasons may
by mariners into the lie of Naxos, enable the reader to understand the
where she was married unto CEnaras, connection of ideas in the passage and

sc. i.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 41

And never, since the middle summer’s spring,

Met we on hill, inhale, forest, or mead,

By paved fountain, or by rushy brook,

Or in the beached margent of the sea, 85

82. the] that Hanmer (Warbu-rton).

the true sense of some of the expres-
sions. By way of introduction we
have (lines 81-87) the cause of the
“progeny of evils” (115), viz. the
debate and dissension of Oberon and
his queen, and the “brawls with which
he has disturbed her sport ” (87). As
pointed out by Malone, the succession
of “ therefores ” in lines 88, 93, 103, all
point to the quarrel as the cause of the
elemental and planetary disturbances.

(1) 88-92: “ therefore the winds . . .
overborne their continents,” ue, the
revenge of the winds has caused even
petty rivers to everflow their banks.

(2) 93-102: “ therefore the ox . . .

hymn or carol blest,” i.e. owing to
the floods the * fruits of agriculture are
lost, the flocks are drowned, summer
sports are spoilt, poor weak mortals in
a wintry summer lack the good cheer
usual in winter ; and (the season being
summer) there are no hymns or carols,
which are incidental to a true and
seasonable winter. (3) 103-105 :

“therefore the moon . . . diseases do
abound,” the moon, angry at our
brawls, has made the air damp, moist,
and unwholesome, which has caused
numerous diseases of the respiratory
organs. (Finally) 106-117: owing to
our quarrel (or to this disturbance of
the elements), the seasons all over the
earth are altered and turned topsy-
turvy, and their aspects are completely
changed,— all through our dissensions.

101- 114 Johnson proposed to arrange
in the following order : 101, 107-1 14,

102- 104, 106, 105. 105, 106 are trans-

posed by Hudson, from the conjecture
of Johnson. These proposals display
ingenuity, but are entirely inadmissible.
There is no valid reason for any re-
arrangement.

81. forgeries] inventions. Cf. Ham-

85. in] on Pope.

let , IV. vii. 90, “in forgery of shapes
and tricks.”

82. middle summer' s spring] Steevens
is right in thinking that this expression
means the beginning of “middle” or
“mid” summer. “When trees put
forth their second, or, as they are
frequently called, their midsummer
shoote.” Henley. For spring in the
sense of “ beginning,” see 2 Henry IV.
IV. iv. 35, “ the spring of day ” ; and cf.
Comedy of Errors , in. ii. 3, “Even
in the spring of love, thy love-springs
rot.” Chambers says the nearest
parallel to the phrase is in Church-
yard’s Ckaritie , 1595, where “a summer
spring” apparently stands for “the
beginning of summer.”

84. paved fountain] Henley explains
(perhaps rightly) as fountains whose
beds were covered with pebbles, in
opposition to those of the rushy brooks,
which are oozy.

85. in] within (Halliwell). “In”
was often used for “on” (Dyce). Cf.
“falling in the land,” 90, infra', and
“gold strewed i’ the floor,” Cymbeline,
111. vi. 50. Dyce, however, quotes an
observation of W. N. Lettsom to the
effect that printers confound these
prepositions, as, e.g., Richard III. v.
i. 24, “to turn their own points in
their masters’ bosoms,” where the Ff
have “ in ” and the Qq “ on.”

85. beached margent] “formed by a
beach, or which serves as a beach,”
Wright. Cf. Timon, v. i. 219, “ upon
the beached verge of the salt flood.”
“Margent” is an old form of “mar-
gin,” which latter Shakespeare appar-
ently never uses. Craig says that in
the south of England pebbles for walks
are called “beach”; and takes the
expression to mean the margin strewn
with beach, i.e. pebbles.

42 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act h.

To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,

But with thy brawls th$p hast disturb d our
sport. }

Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,

As in revenge, have suck’d up* from the sea
Contagious fogs ; which, falling in the land, go

Hath every pelting river made so proud,

That they have overborne their continents :

The ox hath therefore stretch’d his yoke in vain,

The ploughman lost his sweat; and the green
corn

Hath rotted ere his youth attain’d a beard: 95

The fold stands empty in the drowned field,

And crows are fatted with the murrion flock ;

The nine-men’s morris is fill’d up with mud ;

91. HatK\ Qq, Ff ; Have Rowe (ed. 2) ; pelting] Qq, petty Ff. 95. his ]
its Pope. 97. murrion ] murrain Theobald (ed. 2).

86. ringlets ] Probably the fairies’ 89, 90. suck'd up . . . fogs ] Cf. King

tiny dances in a ring; scarcely the Lear , ir. iv. 169, { c you fen-suck’d fogs
“ gossamer ringlets” of Furness, or the drawn by the powerful sun”; and
‘ ‘ orbs 35 (9, ante) of Wright. Cf. “then Tempest , n. ii. 1, “ All the infections
maids dance in a ring ■ of T. Nash’s that the sun sucks up From bogs, fens,
(1567-1601 ?) Song of Spring. fiats. ”

87. drawls] noisy, quarrels. Origin- 92. they] “ The plural follows
ally, a brawl was a kind of French loosely, as representing the collection
dance, resembling a cotillon, as in of individual rivers.” Wright.

Love's Labour's Lost , in. i. 9, “will 92. continents] banks. Cf. King
you win your love with a French Z^r, m. ii. 58, “ close pent up guilts
braule ? ” Its character appears from Rive your concealing continents and
Cotgrave : “Bransle: a brawle or Hamlet , IV. iv. 64, “ tomb enough and
daunce wherein many (men and women) continent to hide the slain. 51

holding by the hands, sometimes in a 97. murrion ] Exodus ix. 3. For
ring and otherwhiles at length, moue the variety of the spelling Wright
together, 55 It is difficult to say whether quotes King Lear, I. i. 65, “ cham-
there is any etymological connection pains ” and, “ champions.”
between these two words. “Brawl, 55 98. nine-men's morris] “This game
meaning noisy quarrel, may be con- was sometimes called the nine mens
necled with the Old Eng. braid, brail , merrils , from merelles or mereaudc, an
Dan. bratte , to talk much and noisily — ancient French word for the jettons or
perhaps an onomatopoeic word. counters with which it was played.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 43.

And the quaint mazes in the wanton green,

For lack of tread, Sre undistinguishable : ioo.

99. in] on Collier,

The other term morris is probably
a corruption suggested by the sort of
dance which in the progress of the
game the counters performed. In the
French merelles each party had three
counters only, which were to be placed
in a line in order to win the game. It
appears to have been the Tremerel men-
tioned in an old fabliau. See Le Grand,
Fabliaux et Contes , ii. 208. Dr. Hyde
thinks the morris or merrils was known
during the time that the Normans con-
tinued in possession of England, and
that the name was afterwards corrupted
into three mens morals , or nine mens
morals. If this be true, the conversion
of morals into morris , a term so very
familiar to the country people, was
extremely natural. The doctor adds,
that it was likewise called nine-penny ,
ox nine-pin miracle , threepenny morris ,
five-penny morris , nine-penny morris,
or three-pin , five-pin , and nine-pin
morris , all corruptions of three-pin, etc .
merels. Hyde, Hist. Nerdiludii, p.
202.” Douce, Illustrations of Shake-
speare, etc., 1807. “In that part of
Warwickshire where Shakespeare was
educated, and the neighbouring parts
of Northamptonshire, the shepherds and
other boys dig up the turf with their
knives to represent a sort of imperfect
chess-board. It consists of a square,
sometimes only a foot diameter, some-
times three or four yards. Within
this is another square, every side of
which is parallel to the external square;
and these squares are joined by lines
drawn from each comer of both squares,
and the middle of each line. One
party, or player, has wooden pegs,
the other stones, which they move in
such a manner as to take up each
other’s men, as they axe called, and
the area of the inner square is called
the pound j in which the men taken up

are impounded. These figures are by
the country people called Nine Men's
Morris or Merrils ; and are so called
because each party has nine men.
These figures are always cut upon the
green turf, or leys as they are called,
or upon the grass at the end of
ploughed lands, and in rainy seasons
never fail to be choked [fill'd] up with
mud.” James. “ Nine men's morris
is a game still played by the shepherds,
cowkeepers, etc., in the midland
counties, as follows : A figure is made
on the ground (like this which I have
drawn) by cutting out the turf; and
two persons take each nine stones,
which they place by turns in the
angles, and afterwards move alter-
nately, as at chess or draughts. He
who can place three in a straight line
may then take off any one of his
adversary’s, where he pleases, till one,
having lost all his men, loses the
game.” Alchorne. Cotgrave gives
s.v. “ Merelles, The boyish game
called Merills or fiue-pennie Morris ;
played here most commonly with
stones, but in France with pawnes,
or men made of purpose, and tearmed
Merelles See also Strutt’s Sports
and Pastimes , p. 279 (ed. 2), and
Nares, Glossary.

99. the qtiaint mazes ] “Several
mazes of the kind here alluded to are
still preserved, having been kept up
from time immemorial. On the top
of Catherine - hill, Winchester, the
usual play-place of the School, observes
Percy, was a very perplexed and
winding path running in a very Small
space over a great deal of ground,
called a Miz-Maze. The senior boys
obliged . the juniors to tread it, to
prevent the figure from being lost,
and I believe it is still retained.”
Halliwell, 1856.

44 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actil

The human mortals want their winter cheer ;

No night is now with hymn <3r carol blest:

ioi. want . . . cheer ;]want ; . . . here Knight (Anon, conj.) ; chant— . . .
here Grant White conj. ; wail . . . here ; Kinnear conj. ; winter cheer ]
Hanmer ; winter keere Qq, F I , 2 ; winter here F 3, 4 ; winter chear
Theobald conj. (withdrawn); winters keried Warbnrton ; wonted year Johnson
conj. ; summer here Keightley conj. ; minstrelsy Hudson.

101. The human mortals ] It is clear
from Titania’s reference to the mother
of her “changeling,” 135 t post, “she
being mortal of that boy did die 35 ;
from the First Fairy’s address to
Bottom, in. i. 178, “Hail, mortal! 33
Puck’s “these mortals 33 in in. ii. 115,
and other passages, that the fairies
distinctly considered themselves to be
immortal, or at any rate superior to the
ills of humanity. Steevens, however,
asserted that “fairies were not
‘human, 3 but they were yet ‘subject
to mortality/ and that ‘human 3
might have been here employed to
mark the difference between men and
fairies. 33 Ritson, in his Quip Modest
(1788), rightly maintains against
Steevens that the fairies of Shakespeare
and the common people were im-
mortal, and were never considered
otherwise. This, however, does not
explain the true meaning of “human”
in this passage, used as a qualifying
epithet. I think the qualification has
no special reference to the immortality
of the fairies as distinguished from the
mortality of human beings. Read in
the light of the context, it is simply
a compassionate epithet on Titania’s
part, and indicates her pity for mortals
who are only “human/ 3 i.e. who are
subject to the ills and weaknesses of
humanity, and who, owing to her
quarrel with Oberon, are, undeserv-
edly, without their usual seasonable
“ cheer/ 3 in an unseasonable time ; not
being, like Titania and her elemental
fairy beings, creatures independent of
all “ human ” ills and their compensat-
ing comforts,

id. want their winter cheer\ So I
read, following Theobald’s conjecture
and Hanmer’s reading. Theobald

says: “I once suspected it should be
c want their winter chear/ i.e. their
jollity, usual merry-makings at that
season.” Capell explains (Notes, ii.
104) : “That is, their accustomed winter
in a country thus afflicted; to wit, a
winter enlivened with mirth and dis-
tinguished with grateful hymns to their
deities.” Hudson thinks the next line
naturally points out “minstrelsy 33 as
the right correction — a “correction 33
which is clearly inadmissible. Dyce
(ed. 2) says, “‘Heere 3 is proved to
be nonsense by the attempts to explain
it ” ; and with this remark I entirely
agree. Furness, supporting, as usual,
the text of the Folio, thinks the line
scarcely needs emendation, and the
only solution he can find is to take
“here,” not in the sense of time, but
of place, and he refers to Capell’s
explanation, above noted, in support
of this. I think the true meaning is
simply that “ mortals ” lack the cheer
incidental to the real winter season,
which of course would be lacking in a
summer season, however wintry in its
character. Hudson truly remarks that
the word “here” in this place gives a
sense, if any, out of harmony with the
context. Not another word in the
whole passage indicates that the effects
of the quarrel are other than prevailing
over the whole earth, and not at all
confined to any particular spot: it is
“the mazed world” (113), and not
merely any particular part, which is
the scene of the universal disturbance ;
and hence the word “ here ” is without
meaning and quite inadmissible.

102. hymn or carol] i.e. of the
Christmas or winter season, without
any reference to the “faint hymns” of
Act 1. i. 73, “chanted to the cold

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 45

Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,

Pale in her anger,. washes all the air,

That rheumatic diseases do abound: 105

And thorough this distemperature we see

The seasons alter hoary-headed frosts

Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose;

And on old Hiems’ thin and icy crown,

106. thorough ] Q 1, F 2, 3 ; through Q 2, F 1, 4. 107. hoary ] Q I, F 3, 4 ;

hoared Q 2, F 1, 2. 109. thin] Halliwell (Tyrwhitt conj.) ; ckinne Qq, F 1, 2 ;

chin F 3, 4 ; chill Theobald conj.

fruitless moon.” The collocation of
“moon” in the next line, which
introduces a fresh deduction or result
from the quarrel, is, I think, accidental,
but this is by no means certain.

103. the moon , the governess of floods}
Cf. “the watery moon,” 162, post;
Hamlet , 1. i. 119 :

“ the moist star

Upon whose influence Neptune’s
empire stands ” ;

Winter's Tale, I. ii. 426 :

“you may as well

F orbid the sea for to obey the moon ” ;
and The Tempest , v. i. 270, “That
could control the moon, make flows
and ebbs.”

105. rheumatic] with the accent on

the first syllable, as in Venus and
Adonis , 135. Malone says that

“rheumatic diseases” signified in
Shakespeare’s time, not what we now

* call rheumatism, but distillations from
the h^ad, catarrhs, etc. Dyce, how-
ever, defines the word as “splenetic,
humoursome, peevish,” referring to
2 Henry IV. II. iv. 62, “as rheumatic
as two dry toasts” (“which cannot
meet but they grate one another,”
Johnson). In Holland’s Pliny , xix.
c. 23, we find: “And these are
supposed to be singular for those
fluxes and catarrhes which take a
course to the belly and breed fluxes,
called by the Greeks Rheumatisms .”

106. distemperature ] It is possible
that this refers proximately to the

washing of the air by the moon or the
perturbation of the elements (Steevens) ;
but Malone, followed by Wright,
refers it to the “brawl” between
Oberon and Titania ; and I think this
latter view is to be preferred. Cf.
Comedy of Errors, v. i. 81 :

“ And at her heels a huge infectious
troop

Of pale distemperatures and foes
to life”;

and Romeo and Juliet, II, iii. 4,
“ Thou art uproused by some dis-
temperature.” Cf. also Pericles, v.
i. 27, “Upon what ground is his
distemperature?” On the other hand,
in 1 Henry IV. V. i. 3 (referring to the
sun), “the day looks pale at his dis-
temperature,” the word most probably
refers to physical disturbance. The
word originally meant— ( 1 ) a condition
of the air or elements not properly
tempered for human health and com-
fort ; (2) a disordered or distempered
condition of the body ; (3) disturbance
of mind or temper.

109. thin and icy crown ] Theobald,
whose instinct was seldom at fault,
first suggested “ chill ” for the
“chinne” of the Qq, F I, 2, and I
think rightly ; but Tyrwhitt’s extremely
plausible emendation “thin,” i.e.
“thin-haired,” has been almost
universally adopted by editors, Cf.
the “thin and hairless scalp” of
Richard II. in, ii. 1 12. On the other
hand, Golding’s Ovid (Book ii. f. 17,

46 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act h.

An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds 1 1 o

Is, as in mockery, set The spring, the summer,

The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries ; and th£ mazed world,

By their increase, now knows .not which is which
And this same progeny of evils comes 1 1 5

From our debate, from our dissension ;

We are their parents and original.

Obe . Do you amend it then ; it lies in you :

Why should Titania cross her Oberon ?

I do but beg a little changeling boy, 1 20

To be my henchman.

Tita. Set your heart at rest,

The fairy land buys not the child of me.

His mother was a votaress of my order :

And, in the spiced Indian air, by night,

Full often hath she gossip’d by my side ; 125

And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,

U2. childing] chiding Pope. 113. mazed] amazed Rowe. 114. increase]

inverse Hammer, inchase Warburton. 115. evils comes] F 2, 3 ; eiiils, comes
Qq, F 1 ; evil conies F 4. 122. The fairy] Thy fairy Collier (ed. 2). 123,

votaress] votresse Qq, Ff.

ed. 1587), a favourite book of Shake- 44 The 4 teeming autumn 9 big with
speare’s, contains a description of rich increase,

winter with his 44 snowie frozen crown,” Bearing the wanton burthen of the
The double epithet, therefore, of 44 chill prime,”

and icy ” is not out of place or merely of the 97th Sonnet. See the New
tautological; and I think the ductus Eng \ Diet., s.v., for citations in
literarum rather supports the reading support of these meanings.

44 chill.” The point of the epithets 113. mazed] confused, bewildered,

seems to lie rather in the coldness 114. increase] the natural products

of old Hieins’ scalp than in its want of each season ; see no, ante.
of covering. 115. progeny of evils] See Intro*

1 12. childing] i. That which bears duction on the Date of Composition,
a child, pregnant: 44 The childing or 121. henchman] Sherwood^ Fr. -
bearing woman,” Foxe, A. M. Eng. Diet., appended to Cotgrave,
0 596 )i 106, 1. 2. “Fertile,” 44 fruit- gives: 44 A hench-man, or hench-boy*

fuL” ; frugifer autumnus, Steevens, Page d’honneur, qui marche devant
Dyce. Knight quotes quelque Seigneur de grand authorise.”

sc. i j MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM

47

Marking the embarked traders on the flood ;

When we have laugh'd to see the sails conceive,

And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind ;

Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait, 130
Following, — her womb then rich with my young
squire, —

Would imitate, and sail upon the land,

To fetch me trifles, and return again,

As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.

But she, being mortal, of that boy did die ; 135

And for her sake do I rear up her boy :

And for her sake I will not part with him.

Obe . Flow long within this wood intend you stay ?

Tita. Perchance, till after Theseus' wedding-day.

If you will patiently dance in our round, 140

And see our moonlight revels, go with us ;

If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.

Obe . Give me that boy, and I will go with thee.

Tita. Not for thy fairy kingdom. — Fairies, away

l2j. on] Qq, F I, 2; o/F 3, 4. 130. gait ] Capell ; gate Qq, Ff. 131.

Following , — her . . . squire , — ] Following {her wombe ... squire) Qq, Ff;
FqI lying {her . . squire) Theobald (Warburton); ( Following . . . squire)
Steevens, Kenrick conj. ; Having her womb . . . Cartwright conj. 136. do
/] doe IQ 1, I do Ff. 144. fairy] omitted, Steevens, 1793 {Fanner conj.) ;
Fairies ] Elves Pope.

130. swimming] perhaps refers to a pulsive punctuation ” (Furness) removes
gliding motion on the water, but more the excellent parentheses of the Folio,
probably to a graceful motion in danc- and puts a comma after “womb”;
ing. There are numerous references in and many good editors adopt this.

the old dramatists to a step called the 140. round] what is now called the
swim. See J onson’s Cynthia’s Revels, country-dance. Cf. Spenser, Faerie
11. i. Queene, I. vi. 7 :

131. Following ] It is surprising to “A troupe of Faunes and Satyres

find Theobald and Hanmer following faraway,

Warburton in his fantastic reading Within the wood were dauncing in

“folly ing,” meaning “wantoning in a rownd.”

sport and gaiety.* “ Kenrick’s re- 1 44. fairy] Cf. 58, ante.

48 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act n.

We shall chide downright, if I longer stay. 145

[Ex& Titania with her train .
Obe. Well, go thy way : thou shalt not from this grove,

Till I torment thee for this injury.

My gentle Puck, come hither. • Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory,

And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back, 150

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,

That the rude sea grew civil at her song ;

And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,

To hear the sea-maid’s music.

Puck . I remember.

Obe . That very time I saw, but thou couldst not, 155

Flying between the cold moon and the earth,

Cupid all arm’d : a certain aim he took

145. [Exit] Exeunt Qq, Ff ; Exeunt Queen and her Train Theobald. 149.
once I] Qq, F I ; IF 2, 3, 4 ; that I Rowe. 155. saw] Q 1 ; say Q 2, Ff.
157. all arm'd] alarm'd Theobald (Warburton).

147. injury] here “insult.” Cf.
injurious Hermia, “insulting,” ill. ii.
* 95 *

148-168.] According to Rowe, the
allusions in this celebrated passage
amount to no more than a compliment
to Queen Elizabeth. In his Life of
Shakespear (1709), p, 8, Rowe says
that “ Queen Elizabeth had several of
[Shakespear’s] plays acted before her,
and without doubt gave him many
gracious marks of her favour. It is
that maiden Princess, plainly, whom
he intends by a £ fair vestal throned
by the west" ; and that whole passage
is a compliment very properly brought
in and very handsomely applied to her.”;
The historical, or supposed historical,
allusions are considered in the Intro-
duction.

149 . Since] when. Cf. Taming of
the Shrew } Ind. i, 84, and Winter's
Tale, v. i. 219. Verity, perhaps rightly.

thinks “ since” is used by Shakespeare
as equivalent to “when” only after
verbs denoting recollection.

1 5 1. breath] i.e. the singing voice.
Cf. Twelfth Night, II. iii. 22, “so sweet
a breath to sing ” ; Venus and Adonis ,
429, “ Thy mermaid’s voice hath done
me double wrong ” ; and Lucrece, 1411,
“As if some mermaid did their ears
entice.”

153. certain] Here used of an in-
definite number, as in The Tempest, v.
i. 53, “ Bury it certain fathoms in the
earth.” Wright. Schmidt, Lexicon ,
quotes Lucrece, 1525, “And little stars
shot from their fixed places.” The
meaning of “fixed,” “sure,” appears
to be preferable in this passage, espe-
cially as we have “ certain ” occurring
in the latter sense in “ a certain aim,”
157, infra.

157. all arm'd] “ all ” here is merely
emphatic— “ not in full armour, but

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 49

At a fair vestal, throned by the west ;

And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow,

As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts : 1 60

But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft
Quench'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon ;
And the imperial votaress passed on,

In maiden meditation, fancy-free.

Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell: 165

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound,

And maidens call it love-in-idleness.

Fetch me that flower ; the herb I shew'd thee once :
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, 170

Will make or man or woman madly dote

158. the] Ff, omitted Qq. 160. should ] would F 4. 162. Quench'd ]

Quench F 3, 4. 163. votaress ] voiresse Qq, Ff. 169. skew'd] shewed Q 1.

with all his usual weapons ” (Wright), the change of the pansy from white to
i.e. of bow and quiver. “The per- purple was suggested by the change of
verse and ingenious Warburton” reads the mulberry in Ovid’s Story of Pyra-
“ alarm’d,” on the supposition that mus. Shakespeare was a close student
the beauty of the passage would be of Ovid.

heightened if Cupid were represented 168. love-in-idleness') The viola tri-
as frightened at Queen Elizabeth’s de- color, more commonly called pansy or
claration for a single life. The marvel heartsease, and many other names,
is that this perversity seems to have Gerard, in his Herbal (1577), p. 7 85,
been approved by Theobald. says it is called 4 4 in English Hartsease,

158. by) here used in a sense aj broach- Pansies, Live in Idleness, Cull me to

ing its original meaning of 44 net you, and three faces in a hood.” Lyte,

159. loosed) the technical tv *m in in his Hievve Herball (1578), part ii.

archery for the delivery of an a vow. ch. ii., Of Pances or Hartes Ease, says,
See Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie^ p. 149: 4 ‘This floure is called ... in
1589, p. 145. 44 Th’ Archer’s terme, Latine . *. . viola tricolor, Herba Trim -

who is not said to finish the feate of his tatis, Jacea, and Herba Clauellata : in
shot before he give the loose, and deliuer English Pances, Loue in idlenes and
his arrow from his bow.” Heartes Ease.” Ellacombe, Plant Lore

159. smartly) i.e. sharpy and hard, and Garden Craft of Shakespeare, 1878,
See Rushton’s admirable little volume, p. 15 1, has added from Dr. Prior more
Shakespeare an Archer , 1897, p. 47. common names, such as 44 Herb Trinity,

163. votaress) 123, ante. Fancy, Kiss me, Cull me or cuddle me to

167. Before milk-white ] Unless the you, Tickle my fancy. Kiss me ere I rise,
fancy is Shakespeare’s own, it is quite Jump up and kiss me. Kiss me at the
possible, as Hunter (x. 293) thinks, that garden gate. Pink of my John,” etc.

4

50

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act il

Upon the next live creature that It sees.
Fetch me this herb : and be thou here again,
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.

Puck . 1 11 put a girdle round about the earth 175

In forty minutes. - [Exit,

Ode . Having once this juice,

1 11 watch Titania when she is asleep,

And drop the liquor of it in her eyes :

The next thing then she waking looks upon,

Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, 180

On meddling monkey, or on busy ape,

She shall pursue it with the soul of love.

And ere I take this charm from off her sight,

As I can take it with another herb,

1 11 make her render up her page to me. 185

175, 176,] Pit, . . minutes ] as in Pope ; one line in Qq ; prose in Ff. 175.
77 /] Pld Collier, Pd Hudson ; round ] Q 1 ; omitted Q 2, Ff. 177. when']
whence Q 2. 179. then ] Q I ; when Q 2, Ff ; which Rowe. 181. On

meddling ] or medling Rowe. 183. from off ] fro?n ofQ I ; off from Q 2, Ff.

174. leviathan ] “The margins of the
bibles in Shakespeare’s day explained
leviathan as a whale.” Wright.

175. girdle ] Cf. George Chapman’s
Bussy d’ AmboiSy 1607, 1. i. :

“In tall ships richly built and ribbed
with brass,

To put a girdle round about the
world.”

“This metaphor is not peculiar to
Shakespeare. The idea and expression
were probably derived from the old
plans of the world, in which the Zodiac
is represented as ‘a girdle round about
the earth. 5 ” Halliwell. Staunton says
the phrase seems to have been a proverb-
ial mode of expressing a voyage round
the world, and quotes Shirley’s Humour-
ous Courtier , I. i. : “ Thou hast been a tra-
veller and convers’d With the Antipodes,
almost put a girdle About the world. ”

176. forty] used very frequently as
an indefinite number, which probably
took its rise from scriptural sources.
Cf. the forty days and forty nights of
the Deluge, the wanderings of the
Israelites for forty years, etc. And
Sonnets , ii., “When forty winters shall
besiege thy brow” (though the usage
here is not perhaps indefinite), and
Coriolanus , ill. i. 243, “ I could beat
forty of them.” Forty pence was a
customary amount for a wager. Cf.
Henry VI IL 11. iii. 89, “How tastes
it? is it bitter? forty pence, no.” Cf.
“ Forty winks,” a short nap.

178. drop the liquor] See the Intro-
duction ; and cf. “ streak ” and
“anoint,” 257 and 261; “latch’d,”
ill. ii. 36 ; and “crush this herb,” in.
ii . 2 , 66 , post.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 51

But who comes here? I am Invisible;
And I will over-h&ar their conference.

Enter Demetrius, Helena following him .

Dem. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.

Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?

The one 1 11 slay, the other slayeth me. 190

Thou told’st me they were stol’n unto this wood ;

And here am I, and wood within this wood,

Because I cannot meet my Hermia.

Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.

Hel. You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant; 195

1 88. Scene in.] Pope. 190. slay . . . slayeth] Theobald (Thirlby conj.) ;
stay . . . slayeth Qq, Ff. 191. unto] Qq, into Ff. 192. wood . , . wood]
Q 2, Ff; wodde , . . . wood Q 1 ; wode . . . wood Hammer. 193. my] with
Malone. 194. thee] the Q 1.

186. Iam invisible] “ As Oberon and rather give his carcase to my hounds 55 ;
Puck may be frequently observed to cf, also nr. ii. 257.
speak when there is no mention of their 192. wood . . . wood] a play upon
entering, they are designed by the poet words, of a sort, as is indicated by the
to be supposed on the stage during the reading of Q 2 and the Ff ; “wood”
greatest part of the remainder of the meaning mad, enraged; Anglo-Saxon
play, and to mix, as they please, as wod> mad,and German wuth, rage. The
spirits, with the other actors, without difference in meaning is perhaps more
being seen or heard, but when to their clearly shown by the spelling “wode”
own purpose.” Theobald. Collier (ed. adopted by Hanmer, Capell, and the
2) says: “Among the ‘properties’ Cambridge editors, though it is doubtful
enumerated in Henslowe’s Diary is c a whether there was any distinction in
robe for to go invisible.’ Possibly pronunciation. Cf. Venus and Adonis ,
Oberon wore, or put on, such a robe, 740, “ Life poisoning pestilence and
by which it was understood that he was frenzies wood.” See also Chaucer’s
not to be seen.” C.T., Prologue, 1S4 (of the Monk),

190. slay , . . slayeth] Thirlby’s ex- “what sholde he studie and make
cellent emendation, adopted by Theo- hym-selven wood ” ; and 636 (of the
bald and almost all subsequent editors, Somonour), “Thanne wolde he speke
for the “stay” and “stayeth” of the and crie as he were wood.”

Qq and Ff. For the word itself, cf. the 195. adamant] formerly identified
song in Twelfth Night , II. iv. 55, “I with the magnet or . loadstone, and
am slain by a cruel fair maid ” : and originally a name for the hardest metal,
for the sanguinary designs of Demetrius probably “steel” ; being used in Latin
with regard to Lysander, see III. ii. 64, poetically for the hardest iron or steel,
where he says to Hermia, “I had or anything very hard and indestruct-

52 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act n.

But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel : leave you your power to draw,

And I shall have no power to follow you.

Dem* Do I entice you ? Do I speak you fair ?

Or, rather, do I not in plainest truth 200

Tell you, I do not nor I cannot love you ?

HeL And even for that do I love you the more.

I am your spaniel ; and, Demetrius,

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you :

Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, 205

196. for] though Lettsom conj. 197. yozi] omitted F 3, 4. 201. nor] Ff,

not Qq, and Pope. 202. you] Q 1 ; thee Q 2, Ff.

ible ; also, in Pliny, the name of a mouthes of contrary persons and drawe
transparent crystalline gem, probably the heart of a man out of his bodie with-
white sapphire ; and at length trans- out offending any part of him. 55
ferred to the still harder “ diamond 55 ; 196, 197. But yet . . . steel] “There
which name is a modern corruption of is no need of change if we take 4 draw
adamant, through the French diamant. not* in the sense of the opposite of
Craig remarks: “Shakespeare may drawing, namely, of repulsion, which, is
have used the word in the sense of not logical, it must be granted, but
loadstone, with a play on the other then Helena was not logical ; 4 you
sense of adamant, i.e. what Burns would are, 5 she says in effect, * adamant only
call * hard whun-rock 5 ; or else he as far as I am concerned ; you repel
may use it in the sense of a hard rock iron, as is shown by your repelling my
which draws to it ships to their destruc- heart, which is true steel 5 ; or there may
tion 55 ; and he refers to Lord Berners J s have been the image in Helena’s mind
translation of Huon oj Burdeaux , ca. of a piece of lodestone, such as all of
cviii. E.E. Text Soc., ed. Sidney Lee us have often seen, encrusted with bits
(1883), p. 369: “for yf god had not of iron, which have been drawn to it,
had petye of them they were all lykely and she says to Demetrius, in effect,
to haue ben lost for the plase that they * You do not draw iron, because, if you
sawe a farre of was a castell, and therein did, my heart, which is the truest steel,
closyd the rock of the Adamant : the would be close to your heart, and I
which castell was daungerous to aproche should be folded in your arms. 555
for yf enye shyppe come nere it and Furness. “In drawing (attracting)
haue any Iron nayles within it, and a my heart you draw that which for its
shyppe come within the syght thereof, trueness is very steel. 55 Verity. “The
the Adamant wyll drawe the shyppe to point seems to be, 'you draw my heart
hym.” See also Edward Fenton's as adamant draws iron ; yet, though my
Certaine Secrete Wonders of Nature , heart be true as steel, it is not iii other
1569 : “ There is now a dayes a kind of respects like iron, ue* it is not hard. 5 55
adamant which draweth unto it ffeshe, Chambers.

and the same so strongly, that it hath 203. spaniel] Ct Julius Ceesar, lit. i.
power to knit and tie together two 43, “base spaniel fawning. 5 *

sc. i.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 53

Neglect me, lose me ; only give me leave,
Unworthy as I anj, to follow you.

What worser place can I beg in your love
(And yet a place 'of high respect with me)
Than to be used as you use your dog ?

Dem. Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit ;

For I am sick when I do look on thee.

Hel . And I am sick when I look not on you.

Dem. You do impeach your modesty too much,

To leave the city, and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not;

To trust the opportunity of night,

And the ill counsel of a desert place,

With the rich worth of your virginity.

Hel. Your virtue is my privilege for that.

It is not night when I do see your face,
Therefore I think I am not in the night;

Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you, in my respect, are all the world :

Then how can it be said I am alone,

When all the world is here to look on me ?

206. losp] loose Q I. 210. use] Qq, doe Ff, do use Reed ; dog] dogge Q 1,
Fi ; dog. Q 2. 220. privilege for that.] Malone (Tyrwhitt conj. ), privilege :

for that It is Qq, Ff.

220, privilege for that] tc Tyrwhitt 5 s
punctuation, which makes c that 5 refer
to Helena’s leaving the city, has been
adopted by all the best editors down
to Staunton, who returned to the punc-
tuation of the Qq, Ff. Staunton has a
respectable following in the Cambridge
editors.” Furness. I think, however,
that ‘ 4 that ” refers simply to “virginity,”
and not so much to her leaving the city.
The reproaches of Demetrius refer
specifically to — (1) “ the opportunity of

night,” (2) “a desert place, 55 (3) her
“ virginity.” Helena’s replies were
equally specific, though in the inverse
order : i.e, (3) his virtue is the guardian
of her virginity, (2) it is not night when
she sees his face, (1) the wood is not a
desert place and lacks not company,
Demetrius being all the world to her.

224. in my respect] i.e . as I regard
it. Cf. CymbeHne^ n. iii. 140, “ His
meanest garment ... is dearer in my
respect.”

54 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actii

Bern. I ’ll run from thee, and hide me in the brakes,

And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.

HeL The wildest hath not such a heart as you.

Run when you will, the story shall be changed ; 230

Apollo flies, and Daphne holds-the chase;

The dove pursues the griffin ; the mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger : bootless speed,

When cowardice pursues, and valour flies.

Dem . I will not stay thy questions ; let me go : 235

Or, if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.

Hel ’ Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field,

You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius !

235. questions ] qziestion Dyce, ed. 2 (Steevens conj.}. 23S. Ay] Rowe ;
I Qq, Ff ; the field] Q I ; and field Q 2, Ff.

231. ] The story of the flight of Daphne by Sir John Maundevile, in his account

Shakespeare found in Ovid, Metam. i. of Bacharie, * In that contree ben
452-552. See 1 67, ante, and Ella- many griffounes, more plentee than in
combe. Plant Lore of Shakespeare , p. any other contree. Sum men seyn
268. that thei hau the body upward as an

232. griffin] Herodotus, iv. 13 and 27, Eagle, and benethe as a lyoune, and
mentions the wars for gold between the treuly thei seyn sothe that thei ben of
one-eyed people the Arimaspians and that schapp. But a griffoun hathe.the
the gold-guarding griffins — ’A pipacnrobs body more gret, and is more strong
dvBpas jjLovj'o(j>d&\fjLovs } virkp 8£ totjtojv thanne viij lyouns, of such lyouns as
rol>s xpucro0tfXa,K as ypvTras. Craig refers ben of this half, and more gret and
to an entertaining account of this strongere than an c. egles, suche as we
fabulous monster in Lord Berners’s hau amonges us. 5 55 See also Holland’s
Huon of Burdeaux (Lee, E. Eng. Text Pliny, x. 49, “As for the foules called
Ed., part ii. p. 425, c. xxx.), “ How Pegasi, headed like horses; and the
Huon was borne by a gryffon out of the griffons, which are supposed to have
castell of Adamant, and how he slew long eares and a hooked bill, I take
the gryffon . . . Huon beheld him and them to bee meere fables. 5 ’ See also
sawe howe he was a crewell fowle. the references in Phipson’s Animal
His beeke was maruaylously grete, his Lore of Shakespeare’s Time, 1883, p.
eyen as great as a basyn, and more 460, s.v.

redder than the mouth of a fornays, 235. questions] Steevens thought it
and his talantys so great and so longe not impossible that Shakespeare here
that ferful it was to beholde hym.” wrote “question,” i.e, discourse, con-
Way (Promptormm Paruulorum, 1865, versation. Cf. As You Like It, nr.
s.v. Grype, footnote) says : 4 4 This iv. 39, cc I met the duke yesterday, and
fabulous animal is particularly described had much question with him.”

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 55

Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex : 240

We cannot fight fcjr love, as men may do ;

We should be woo’d, and were not made to woo.

[Exit Dem

I ’ll follow thee, and make a heaven of hell,

To die upon the hand I love so well. {Exit Hel

Obe. Fare thee well, nymph : ere he do leave this grove, 245
Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. —

Re-enter PUCK.

Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
Puck. Ay, there it is.

Obe . I pray thee, give it me.

I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the. nodding violet grows; 250

242 [Exit Dem.] omitted Qq, Ff. 243. Ill] lie Qq, 7 Ff. 244. [Exit]
Q 2, Ff ; omitted Q I. 246. Scene IV .] Pope. Re-enter Puck] Capell ; Enter
Pucke Qq, Ff (after line 247). 24S. there] here Hudson (Lettsom conj,).

249. whereon] Pope ; where Qq, Ff. 250. oxlips] Q 1 ; Oxslips Q 2, Ff ; the
oxsltps Rowe ; oxslip Pope ; oxlip Theobald ; ox-lips . . . violet] violets . . .
ox-lip Keightley.

242.] For the sentiment, see Titus quantity” (whatever that may mean);
Andronicus, II. i. 82, “ She is a woman, or, like Furness, fancy that “a pause
therefore may be woo’d” ; and 1 Henry before where takes the place of a
VI. v. iii. 77, 4 ‘ She 5 s beautiful, and syllable.” I entirely decline to believe
therefore to be woo’d. 3 ’ that Shakespeare wrote “where. 55 If

244. upon the hand] almost equivalent we assume the date 1 594 for the composi-
te “ by the hand, 15 combined with the idea tion of this play, and if we remember
of local proximity to the object. See that Venus ami Adonis was published
11. ii. 107, “ to. perish on my sword.” the previous year, 1593, we shall dis-
“ Upon 55 seems to mean “in conse- cover Pope’s “whereon ” in line 151 of
quence of 5 ’ in Much Ado> iv» i. 225, the poem: “ Witness this primrose bank
“ When he shall hear she died upon his whereon I lie.” No critic that I am
words”; and v. i. 258, “And fled is aware of appears to have noticed this,
he upon this villany.” and I think we need look no farther for

249. whereon] Pope’s sensible read- the true reading,
ing for the halting “ where ” of the Qq, 250. oxlips] Cf. Winter's Tale , iv.
Ff, which is followed by many editors, iv. 125, “bold oxlips and The crown
Critics there are who, like Malone, imperial. ” Lyte, Nievve Herb all, 1578,
consider the word a disyllable ; or, like p. 123 : “The oxelip, or the small
White (ed. 1), as having “a disyllabic kinde of white Mulleyn, is very like to

56 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act n.

Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:

There sleeps Titania, sometime of the night,

Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight ;

And there the snake throws her ename ITd skin, 255
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in :

251. Quite\ omitted Pope; over-canopied ] ouercanoptd Q 1, ouercanoped Q 2,
ouer-cannoped Ff, O'er-cannopfd Pope; lus/i] Steevens, 1793 (Theobald conj.),
luscious F 1, lushious Qq. 253. sometime ] some tijne Rowe. 254. these
flowers'] these bowers Grant White (Collier), this bower Hudson (Lettsom conj.) ;
with ] from Hanmer. 256. wrap] F 2, 3, 4 ; turappe Q 1 ; rap Q 2, F 1.

the Cowslippe aforesaid, saving that (1597), 1086, says: “The musk-rose
his leaves be greater and larger, and was called Rosa moschata , of the smell
his floures be of a pale or faynt yellow of muske ; in Italian, Rosa moschetta ;
colour, almost white and without in French, Roses musques , or musca -
savour.” Marshall says: “Oxlips are delies Gerarde describes it as being
comparatively rare now in England, at of a white colour, “with certaine
least in a wild state.” yellow seedes in the middle,” and says

250. grows] singular, probably by that it is of most writers reckoned

attraction to its nearest subject among the Wilde Roses. Craig refers
“ violet.” to Bacon’s Essay, * s Of Gardens,” where

251. lush] The reading of Theobald, he says: “ that which, above all
Steevens, Dyce, and others for the others, yields the Sweetest Si?iell in the
“luscious” of the Folio, and the Air , is the Violet, „ . . Next to that
“lushious” of the Qq : the latter a is the Musk Rose,” See Ellacombe,
very significant spelling. As Ritson Plant Lore of Shakespeare , s.v.

neatly put it, “ lush is clearly prefer- 252. eglantine] the sweet-brier. Cot-
able in point of sense, and absolutely grave: “Aiglantier: m. An Eglentine,
necessary in point of metre.” Cf. or sweet-brier tree.” Cf. Cymbeline ,
Tempest , 11. i. 52, “How lush and iv. ii. 223, “the leaf of eglantine.”
lusty the grass looks ! ” The conserva- Gerarde, p. 1088, says: “The Eglan-
tive instinct of Furness prefers to ad- tine Rose ... a kinde of Dogs Rose
here to the Folio reading, and to treat ... in English Eglantine or Sweet
the line as an Alexandrine. Brier.” And see Ellacombe, supra.

251. woodbine] Lyte, Nievve Herbalf Milton’s imitation of this passage is
p. 390: “ Woodbine or Honysuckie well known.

hath many small branches, whereby 253. sometime of the night] a partitive
it windeth and wrappeth it selfe about genitive, with the sense of “ during.”
trees and hedges . . . Woodbine Cf. Hamlet , 1. v. 60, “ my custom
groweth in all this Countrie in hedges, always of the afternoon.” And see
about inclosed feeldes, and amongst Abbott, § 176.

broome or firres. It is founde also in 255, 256.] K&gftltyy Expositor, 1867,
woodes . . . This herbe, or kinde of transposes these two lines, so as to
Bindweede, is called ... in English e follow 252, and the change has been
Honysuckie, or Woodbine, and of some adopted by Hudson, reading “ where ”
Caprifoyle.” See IV. i. 47 , post. for “there.”

252. musk-roses] Gerarde, Herbal 256. Weed j a garment.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM 57

f*

And with the juice of this I 'll streak her eyes,

And make her full^of hateful fantasies.

Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove:

A sweet Athenian lady is in love • 260

With a disdainful youth : anoint his eyes ;

But do it, when the next thing he espies
May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.

Effect it with some care; that he may prove 265
More fond on her, than she upon her love :

And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.

Puck, plar not, my lord, your servant shall do so.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. — Another pari of the Wood \

Enter Titania, with her train .

Tita . Come, now a roundel, and a fairy song ;

Then, for the third part of a minute, hence ;

257. And ] There Hanmer, Now Lettsom conj., Then Keightley. 266. fond
on] fond of Rowe ; her love] his love Hanmer. 268. [Exeunt] Qq, Exit Ff.

Scene //.

Scene //.] Capell, Scene v. Pope, Scene hi. Steevens ; Theobald continues the
Scene. Another part of the Wood] Capell. Enter . . .] Enter Tytania,
Queene of Fairies, with her traine Q 1; Enter Queene of Fairies, with her traine
Q 2, F 1. 2. for] Vfore Theobald, Hudson ; in Heath conj. ; ere Hudson

conj. ; fly Kinnear conj. ; a minute] the midnight Warburton.

263, 264. man . . . on] Shakespeare to the second.” Wright assumes the
frequently rhymes a short “a” with a rhymes are imperfect, and thinks it un-
short “ o,” and probably to his ear the safe to draw any inference as to Shake-
rhyme was reasonably correct. See speare’s pronunciation. I am inclined
this rhyme repeated in in. ii, 348, 349, to think that the “ o” had the sound of
and the earlier instances of “ crab” the “a,” and not vice versa,
and “bob” in lines 48 and 49, and 266. fond on] Cf. Sonnets > Ixxxiv. 14,

€i cough ” and “laugh” in lines 54 and u being fond on praise.”

55 of this scene. Steevens may be ~

nearer the mark when he says : “ I * cene 7 *

desire no surer evidence to prove that 1. roundel ] Cf. “ round,” 11 . i. 40,

the broad Scotch pronunciation once and line 8, infra .

prevailed in England, than such a 2. the third part of a minute] Halli-

rhyme as the first of these words affords well says : “ This quaint subdivision of

58 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acth.

Some to kill cankers In the musk-rose buds ;

Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings,

To make my small elves coats ; and some keep back 5
The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots and wonders
At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep;

Then to your offices, and let me rest.

Song.

Fir, Fairy . You spotted snakes, with double tongue,

Thorny hedge-hogs, be not seen ; 10

Newts, and blind-worms, do no wrong ;

Come not near our fairy queen :

7. spirits ] sports Hanmer { Warburton) ; Sing] Come, sing Hanmer. 9. Song.
Fir. Fairy] Capell ; Fairies Sing. Qq, Ff.

time exactly suits the character of the was at once song and dance, like that
speaker and her diminutive world.” of the £< Merryman and his Maid ” in

3. cankers] Formerly often the same W. S. Gilbert’s Yeomen of the Guard ,

as * 4 cancer,” meant originally a spread- 11. Newts] an ewt or eft (Anglo-
ing sore or ulcer, then a disease of Saxon, 44 efete ”), the 44 n” of the in-
plants, especially fruit-trees, and was definite article being attached in pro-
prohably also applied to any destruc- nunciation to the following word, as in
live caterpillar or insect larva which 4 4 nonce” and other words. Edward
destroys the buds and leaves of Topsell, Historic of Four e footed Beastes,
plants. See Two Gentlemen of Verona , s6o8, p. 212 : 44 Of the Nevte or Water

1. i. 43, 46, 4 4 the eating canker”; Lizard. . This is a little blacke Lizard,
Romeo and Juliet, II. iii. 30, 44 the called Wassermoll or Wasseradfex ,
canker death ” ; Venus and Adonis , that is, a Lizard of the Water . . ,
656, 44 This canker that eats up Love’s They liue in standing water or pooles,
tender spring”; and Hamlet, 1. iii. as in ditches of Townes and Ii edges .
39, 44 The canker galls the infants of There is nothing in nature that so much
the spring.” offendeth it as salt, for so soon as it is

4. rere-mice ] bats. Anglo - Saxon, layde vpon salt, it endeauoureth with

hrere-mus, from 44 foreran,” to stir, all might and maine to runne away
agitate ; hence 44 flittermouse,” the old ... Beeingmoued to anger, it standeth
name for the bat, upon the hinder legges, and looketh

6 . clamorous owl] Cf. Macbeth , II. directlie in the face of him that hath
iii. 65 : stirred it, and so continueth till all the

44 the obscure bird body be white, through a kind of white

Clamoured the live-long night.” humour or poyson, that it swelleth out-

8.3 Capell divided the fairies’ song ward, to harrne (if it were possible) the
into two stanzas of four lines each, with person that did prouoke it.” The
a chorus of six lines. The stanzas com- creatures are of course perfectly harm-
prise the song called for by Titania, less, but the text expresses not only
and the chorus is the 44 roundel ” which "the belief of the common people, but of

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 59

Chorus.

Philomel, with melody,

Sing in our sweet lullaby ;

Lulla, Julia, lullaby ; lulla, lulla, lullaby : 1 5

Never harm, nor spell nor charm,

Come our lovely, lady nigh :

So, good night, with lullaby.

Fir . Fairy . Weaving spiders, come not here ;

Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence : 20

13, 23. Chorus] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff. 14. in our] Qq, in your
Ff. 19. Fir. Fairy] 1 Fai. Q 1, x Fairy Q 2, 2 Fairy Ff. 20. spinners]
Q I, Ff; spinders Q 2.

the naturalists of the time. Cf. Mac- Lyly’s Euphues (ed. Arber), 100 : “ Is
beth, iv. i. 14, “Eye of newt and blind- not poyson taken out of the Hunny-
worm’s sting.” suckle by the Spider? venym out of

11. blind-worms ] Topsell, p. 239: the Rose by the Cancker?” Topsell,
“ Of the Slow- Worme. This serpent p. 246: “All spyders are venomous,
was called in auncient time among the but yet some more, and some lesse. Of
Grecians Tythlops and Typhlines , and spyders that neyther doe nor can doe
Cophia , because of the dimnes of much harme, some of them are tame,
the sight thereof, and the deafenes familiar, and domesticall, and these be
of the eares and hearing . . . It cdmonly the greatest among the whole
beeing most euident that it receiueth packe of them. Others againe be meere
name from the blindnes and deafenes wilde, Huing without the house abroade
thereof, for I haue often proued, that it in the open ayre, which by reason of
neither heareth nor seeth here in Eng- their rauenous gut, and greedy deuour-
land, or at the most it seeth no better ing maw, have purchased to theselues
than a Mole . . . It is harmless except the name of wolfes and hunting
being prouoked, yet many times when spyders.” Craig says: “It is Con-
an oxe or a cow lieth down in the stantly stated in Elizabethan writers
pasture, if it chaunce to lie upon one of that there are no spiders in Ireland,
these slovv-wormes, it byteth the beast, and that if you touch a spider with a
and if remedy be not had, there fol- piece of Irish wood it will die.”
loweth mortality or death, for the poyson 20. spinners] spiders. Cf. Romeo
thereof is very strong.” ^ and Juliet , 1. iv. 59 (of Mab), “Her

13. ?? 2 elody] pronounced with the waggon-spokes made of long spinners’
sound of “ei,” so as to make a perfect legs” ; and Latimer in Fox’s Acts and
rhyme with “lullaby.” See 1. i. 189, Monuments , “Where the bee gathereth
and II. ii. 77 y post, where “ kill -courtesy ” honey, even there the spinner gathereth
rhymes to “ lie,” and 57, where venome.” Craig refers to Fitzherbert’s
“courtesy” rhymes to “modesty.” Book of Husbandry c (Pynson, 1523, ed.

19 .spiders] also thought to be Skeat, p. 51), “And also there wyll be
poisonous. Cf. Richard //. II. i. 1 4, many Kells upon the grass” [and the
“Thy spiders that suck up thy venom.” 1598 edition adds] “like to Spinners

60 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acth.

Beetles black, approach not near ;

Worm, nor snail, do £0 offence.

Chorus. ^

Philomel, with melody, etc.

Sec. Fairy. Hence, away ! now all is well :

One, aloof, stand sentinel. 25

[Exeunt Fairies . Titania sleeps .

Enter Oberon.

Obe. What thou seest, when thou dost wake,

[. Squeezes the flower on Titania' s eyelids.
Do it for thy true love take ;

Love and languish for his sake :

Be it ounce, or cat, or bear,

Pard, or boar with bristled hair, 30

In thy eye that shall appear
When thou wak’st, it is thy dear ;

Wake, when some vile thing is near. [Exit.

Enter Lysander and Hermia.

Lys . Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood

And to speak troth, I have forgot our way : .« 35

We 'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good,

And tarry for the comfort of the day.

Her. Be it so, Lysander : find you out a bed ;

For I upon this bank will rest my head.

24. Sec. Fairy] 2 Fai. Qq, I Fairy Ff. 25. [Exeunt Fairies] Rowe;
omitted Qq, Ff; Titania sleeps] Shee sleepes F 1, omitted Qq; Enter . .

eyelids] Capell ; Enter Oberon Qq, Ff. 31. thai\ what Pope. 33. [Exit]
Rowe; omitted Qq, Ff. 34. Scene VI.] Pope; wood ] Q 1 ; woods Q 2, Ff.

webs 53 ; and to Chapman’s Widow's they will wag them, so will you your
Tears, IV. in., “for women are a kind tongues.” Cotgrave has ; “Araigne:
of spinners : if their legs be plucked of, A spider, a spinner.”

sc. XI.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM 61

*

Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both ; 40

One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth.

Her . Nay, good Lysander ; for my sake, my dear,

Lie further off yet, do not lie so near.

Lys . O, take the sense, 'sweet, of my innocence !

Love takes the meaning in love's conference. 45

I mean, that my heart unto yours is knit ;

So that but one heart we can make of it :

Two bosoms interchained with an oath;

So, then, two bosoms and a single troth.

Then, by your side no bed-room me deny; 50

For, lying so, Hermia, I do not lie.

Her . Lysander riddles very prettily :

Now much beshrew my manners and my pride,

If Hermia meant to say, Lysander lied.

But, gentle friend, for love and courtesy 5 5

Lie further off ; in human modesty

42. good] god Q 1. 44, 45. innocence l ... , conference ] conference; ...

innocence Theobald, ed. i (Warburton). 45. conference ] confidence Collier,
ed. 2. - 47. we can] Qq, canyon Ff, can we Capell. 48. interchained] Qq,

interchanged Ff. 56. off ; in . . . modesty, ] Theobald; off, in . . . modesty:
Qi; off, in . . . modesty , Q 2, F 1, 2 ; off in . . . modesty , F 3, 4.

45. Love . . . conference] i.e.

ct Love puts a good construction on
all that is said and done in the * con-
ference * or intercourse of love.” Lett-
som (j Blackwood* s Magazine ), 1853.

48. interchained ] So Qq, and perhaps
this reading is more forcible than the
“interchanged” of the Ff. On the
other hand, R. G. White (ed. 1) thinks
that “interchained 55 of the Qq conveys
the comparatively commonplace thought
that the lovers’ hearts were bound
together; “interchanged 55 represents
them as having been given each to the
other, as the most solemn instruments
are made, interchangeably. One pos-
sible objection to the reading of the Qq
is that it does not seem to be used by

any other writer ; and it will be remem-
bered that ‘ £ interchanged 55 is used
before by Shakespeare in 1. i. 29,
“interchanged love tokens.” Marshall
adopts^ “ interchained 55 on the ground
that “it is more consonant in sense with
line 46 — £ my heart unto yours is knit ’ ;
and that ‘bosom/thoughusedas ‘desire 5
(Measur e for Measure , iv. iii. 139), or as
‘inmost thoughts '{Othello, ill. i. 58),
seems never to be used for ‘ the affections 5
themselves. ..Shakespeare could scarcely
have said ‘we have interchangedbasom's,.'
The objection to ‘interchained’ is, ” Mar-
shall further says, “not that it occurs
only in this passage, but that it is not to
be found in any other writer, ancient or
modem, so far as I cam discover.”

r-PG.s V I iPR.'wY.

62

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acth.

Such separation as may well be said,

Becomes a virtuous bachelor *and a maid :

So far be distant ; and good night, sweet friend :

Thy love ne’er alter till thy sweet life end ! 60

Lys . Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I;

And then end life, when I end loyalty !

Here is my bed : sleep give thee all his rest !

Her. With half that wish the wisher’s eyes be press’d !

{They sleep .

Enter PUCK.

Puck . Through the forest have I gone, 65

But Athenian found I none,

On whose eyes I might approve

This flower’s force in stirring love.

Night and silence ! — who is here ?

Weeds of Athens he doth wear: 70

This is he, my master said,

Despised the Athenian maid ;

And here the maiden, sleeping sound,

On the dank and dirty ground.

Pretty soul ! she durst not lie 75

Near this lack-love kill-courtesy.

66. found ] Q 1; finde Q 2, Ff. 7 6. Near this lack-love kill-courtesy']
Johnson; Near this lack-love , this kill-courtesy F 1 ; Near to this lack-love ,
this kill-courtesze Pope ; Near to this kill-curtesie Theobald; Near to this lack-
love kill-curtesie Warburton ; Near this lack-love , kill-courtesy Steevens (1785,
* 793 ) ; Nearer this lack-love , this kill-courtesy Dyce (Walker conj.).

67. approve] Cf. “approvers,” i.e.
those who put to the proof, Cymheline,
11. iv. 25.

70. Weeds'] See II. i. 264.

76. Near this lack-love kill-courtesy]
This, the reading of Johnson, is the
only tolerable reading. The editors
almost universally appear to take
“ lack - love ” as a substantive. I

believe it is here used as an adjective,
and I think the compositor introduced
the second “this” into the line from a
misconception of this fact. The ex-
pression is, I think, almost exactly
analogous to the “purple-hued malt-
worms” of 1 Henry IK ir. i. 83 ; cf.
also 11. iv. 77-80 of that play. The
note in Furness affords, in my opinion,

SC. XI.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 63

Churl, upon thy eyes I throw
All the po^ver this charm doth owe.

When thou wak'st, let love forbid

Sleep his seat on thy eyelid. So

So awake when I am gone,

For I must now to Oberon. {Exit.

Enter DEMETRIUS and Helena, running.

Hel. Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius.

Dem . I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus.

HeL O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not so. 85

Dem . Stay, on thy peril ; I alone will go.

[Exit.

HeL O, I am out of breath in this fond chase !

The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace.

Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies ;

For she hath blessed and attractive eyes. 90

How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears :

If so, my eyes are oftener wash'd than hers.

No, no, I am as ugly as a bear;

For beasts that meet me, run away for fear:

83. Scene VII.] Tope; Stay Qq, F I ; Say F 2, 3, 4. 86. [Exit] Exit

Demetrius Ff, omitted Qq.

many melancholy examples of mis- “Osun,

applied ingenuity and defective “ear” Burn the great sphere thou moves!
for rhythm. in ! darkling stand

79,80. When . . . eyelid] i.e. forbid The varying shore of the world.”
sleep to retain his seat, let love banish 87. fond] foolish, as often in Shake-
sleep from his eyes, when he would speare.

sleep again. Cf. the well-known 92. wash'd] Cf. Much Ado , 1. i.
passage in Macbeth, 1. in. 19: 27, “ there are no faces truer than those

“ Sleep shall neither night nor day that are so washed” ; and King Lear,
Hang upon his penthouse lid.” 1. i. 269, “ with wash’d eyes Cordelia
85. darkling] in the dark. Cf. King leaves you.” Craig quotes Cyril
Lear, L iv. 237, ‘ ‘ So out went the candle, Tourneur, The Atheist's Tragedy, I. ii.
and we were left darkling”; and 34, “What, ha 7 you wash'd your eyes
Antony and Cleopatra, iv. xv, 10 : with tears this morning ? ”

64

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acth.

Therefore, no marvel, though Demetrius 95

Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus.

What wicked and dissembling glass of mine
Made me compare with Hermia’s sphery eyne ?

But who is here ? Lysander ! on the ground !

Dead ? or asleep ? I see no blood, no wound : 100

Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake.

Lys. And run through fire I will, for thy sweet sake.

[ Waking.

Transparent Helena ! Nature shews her art,

That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart.
Where is Demetrius? O, how fit a word 105

Is that vile name, to perish on my sword !

HeL Do not say so, Lysander ; say not so :

What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though?
Yet Hermia still loves you : then be content.

Lys . Content with Hermia! No; I do repent no

The tedious minutes I with her have spent.

Not Hermia, but Helena I love :

Who will not change a raven for a dove ?

103. Helena ] Helen Pope ; Nature ' shews her] Malone ; Nature her shelves
F 1; Nature here shews F 2, 3, 4. 104. thy heart] my heart Dyce, ed. 2

(Walker conj.). 112. Helena I love] Q 1 ; Helena now Hove Q 2, Ff ; Helen
now I love Dyce, ed. 2 (Seymour conj.).

98. sphery] Cf. Milton’s Comus, 104. thy heart] Walker, Dyce, and
1021, “Higher than the sphery chime.” Hudson read “my heart” Cf. As You
The meaning appears to be, “Eyes Like It, v. iv. 120:
bright as the stars in their spheres.” “That thou mightst join her hand

103. Nature shews her art] the read- with his

ing of Malone, which has been adopted Whose heart within her bosom

by almost all modern editors. But is.”

there is much to be said in favour of 108. What though] What matter,
the Ff reading, “Nature her [i.e. here] Craig.

shewes art,” on the ground that “art” 113. Who „ . . dove] Craig com-
is usually contrasted with “ nature,” and pares Twelfth Night , v. L 134, “a
that the point of Lysander J s remark is raven's heart within a dove.”
not otherwise preserved.

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 65

The will of man is by his reason sway’d ;

And reason says you are the worthier maid. 115
Things growing are not ripe until their season :

So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason ;

And touching now 'the point of human skill,

Reason becomes the marshal to my will,

And leads me to your eyes ; where I overlook 120
Love’s stories, written in love’s richest book.

Hel . Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born ?

When, at your hands, did I deserve this scorn ?

Is ’t not enough, is ’t not enough, young man,

That I did never, no, nor never can, 125

Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius’ eye,

But you must flout my insufficiency ?

Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do,

In such disdainful manner me to woo.

But fare you well: perforce I must confess, 130

I thought you lord of more true gentleness.

O, that a lady, of one man refused,

Should of another therefore be abused ! [Exit.

Lys . She sees not Plermia. Hermia, sleep thou there ;

And never mayst thou come Ly sander near! 135
For, as a surfeit of the sweetest things

1 17. ripe not\ not ripe Rowe (ed. 2). 12 z. Love's stories ] Love-stories Dyce,

ed. 2 (S. Walker conj.).

11 7. ripe] ripen, grow riper, as in They sparkle still the right Pro-

As You Like It , II. vii. 26, “And metheanfire;

so from hour to hour we ripe and They are the books, the arts, the
ripe.” academes,

1 18. touching , . . skill] Touching That show, contain, and nourish

the highest point of human discern- all the world ” ;

ment. and Romeo and Juliet, I. hi. 85 :

1 21. love's richest book J Cf. Love's “And what obscured in this fair
Labour's Lost, IV. iii. 350 : volume lies,

“ From women’s eyes this doctrine Find written in the margent of his
I derive: eyes.”

5

66 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acth

The deepest loathing to the stomach brings ;

Or, as the heresies, that men do leave,

Are hated most of those they did deceive ;

So thou, my surfeit, and my heresy, 140

Of all be hated, but the most' of me !

And, all my powers, address your love and might,

To honour Helen, and to be her knight ! [Exit

Her . [Awaking?] Help me, Lysander, help me] do thy
best,

To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast ! 145

Ah me, for pity ! what a dream was here !

Lysander, look how I do quake with fear:

Methought a serpent eat my heart away,

And you sat smiling at his cruel prey.

Lysander! what, -removed ? Lysander! lord! 150
What, out of hearing ? gone ? no sound, no word ?
Alack, where are you ? speak, an if you hear ;

Speak, of all loves ! I swoon almost with fear.

139. they] Qq, that Ff. 149. you] Qq, yet Ff. 151. hearing? gone?]
Capell ; hearings gone? Qq, Ff; hearing gone? Theobald. 152. an] Capell ;
and Qq, Ff. 153. swoon] swoune Q 1 ; swound Q 2, F 2, 3, 4 ; sound F 1.

148. eat ] “ate” is the older form of loves.” Here the Ff reads “for love’s
the preterite, but perhaps there was sake.” Nares furnishes other examples,
no distinction in pronunciation between e.g., Gammer Gurtorfs Needle (1575), V.
the present and the preterite. ii., “For all the loves on earth, Hodge,

153* of all loves] meaning, perhaps, let me see it”; and Dekker’s No?iest
“for the sake of all that’s loving.” Whore (Dodsley’s Old Plays, ii. 7 6,
Craig. “Of” is used in adjurations and iii. 267), “Conjuring his wife, of
and appeals to signify “out of.” Cf. all loves, to prepare fitting cheer for
Twelfth Night , v. i. 237, “ Of charity, such honourable trencher-men.” Craig
what kin are you to me ?** And the refers also to Hey wood’s A Woman
sense of “out of ” being lost, it perhaps killed with Kindness , 11. iv. 49, “Of
became equivalent to “for the sake all the loves betwixt thee and me,
of,” “by. For the phrase itself, cf. tell me what thou thinkest of this?”
Merry Wives, II . ii. 118, “But and Bernard’s Terrence in English
Mistress Page would desire you to send ( Eunuchus ), ed. 1607, p. 119, “ Of
her your little page, of all loves” ; and all loves, hearken to this J am telling
Othello, HI. i. 13, “ he desires you, of all you,”

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 67

No? then I will perceive you are not nigh:
Either death, or you, I ’ll find immediately.

155

[Exit,

ACT III ,

SCENE I . — The Wood . Titania lying asleep.

Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout,
and Starveling.

Bot. Are we all met ?

Quin . Pat, pat; and here’s a marvellous convenient
place for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be
our stage, this hawthorn brake our tiring-house ;
and we will do it in action, as we will do it be- 5
fore the duke.

Bot . Peter Quince, —

Quin . What say’st thou, bully Bottom ?

155. Either] Or Pope.

Act III, Scene I,

Act III, Scene /.] Rowe ; Actus Tertius Ff, omitted Qq. The Wood]
Pope. Titania lying asleep] The Queen of Fairies lying asleep Rowe ; omitted
Qq, Ff. Enter . . .] Rowe ; Enter the clownes Qq, Ff. 2. marvellous ]
maruailes Q I ; maruailous Q 2, Ff ; marvels Capell. 7. Quince i — ] Theo-
bald; Quince ? Q 1, F 2, 3, 4; quince ? Q 2, F 1.

155. Either ] See II. i. 32, ante.

Act III, Scene 1,

2. marvellous] “Capell appears to
have considered the reading of Q 1 as
representing the vulgar pronunciation
of ‘ marvellous, 9 and he therefore
printed it ‘marvels 5 as in IV. i. 26. 55
Cambridge edd.

4. hawthorn brake] See 77? post,

4. tiring-house] attiring-house, dress-
ing room. Craig refers to Rd. Brome’s
The Antipodes , iv. iv., Works (Benson),
1873, iii. 324 =

“ Bar. Well Tony, I will see thee in
this thing,

And ’tis a pretty thing.

Bla, Prethee, good Bab,

Come in, and help me on with y t
in our Tyring-house ,

And helpe the gentlemen, my
fellow dancers,

And thou shalt then see all
our things and all
Our properties and practice to
the Musicke.”

S. bully] Cf. iv. ii. 19, post ; The
Tempest \ v. i, 238; and Merry Wives f

68 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act m.

Bot. There are things in this comedy of Pyramus

and Thlsby, that will never please. First, io
Pyramus must draw a sword to kill himself;
which the ladies cannot abide. How answer
you that?

Snout. By’r lakin, a parlous fear.

Star. I believe we must leave the killing out, when 1 5
all is done.

Bot. Not a whit : I have a device to make all well.

Write me a prologue : and let the prologue seem
to say, we will do no harm with our swords ; and
that Pyramus is not killed indeed : and, for the 20
more better assurance, tell them that I Pyramus
am not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver. This
will put them out of fear.

Quin. Well, we shall have such a prologue; and it

shall be written in eight and six. — 2 5

14. By’r lakin] Berlakin Q I ; Ber taken Q 2, Ff. 17. device] deuise Q 1.
20, 21. the more better ] the better Rowe (ed. 2), more better Pope.

passim . The New Eng. Diet., s.v., speare’s day ; why not a Dutch or
says: “ Etymology obscure ; possibly German one?

an adaptation of the Dutch boel, 14. By 9 r lakin] by our Ladykin, little
Mover 5 (of either sex), also * brother 5 ; lady, Cf. The 7 'empest , in. iii, 1.
earlier also ‘friend, 5 ‘kinsman 5 . . . The “ Berlakin 55 of Q 1 and the “ Rer*
A term of endearment and familiarity, iaken 55 of F 1 probably represent the
originally applied to either sex ; sweet- pronunciation of the time. Craig
heart, darling. Later, to men only, quotes Sir Thomas More ( Works , 2
implying friendly admiration ; good vols., Rastell, 1557), vol. ii. p. 849,
friend, fine fellow, ‘gallant, 5 Often Apologie, “By our lakens, brothers,
prefixed as a sort of title to the name husband, quoth she. 55
or designation of the person addressed, 14. parlous] perilous, excessive, won-
as in ‘ bully Bottom, 5 ‘bully doctor. 555 derful. Cf. As You Like It, m. ii. 45.
Bale, Tkre Lawes , 475 (1538) ; 18, 19. seem to say] Cf. Merchant of

“ Though she be somewhat olde Venice , ir. iv. 11, “ An it shall please

It is myne owne swete bullye you to break up this, it shall seem to

My muskyne and my mullye.” signify, 55
Italian expressions like * * coragio 55 ( The ‘ 25. eight and six] the common ballad

Tempest , v. i. 25S) were common metre of alternate verses of eight and
amongst the tavern wits of Shake- six <wllables. Capell, however, refers

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 69

Bot. No, make it two more ; let it be written in eight
and eight. *

Snout . Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?

Star . I fear it, I promise you.

Bot. Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: 30
to bring in, — God shield us !— a lion among
ladies, is a most dreadful thing ; for there is not
a more fearful wild-fowl than your lion living;
and we ought to look to ? t.

Snout Therefore, another prologue must tell he is not 35
a Hon.

Bot. Nay, you must name his name, and half his face
must be seen through the lion's neck; and he
himself must speak through, saying thus, or to
the same defect, — “ Ladies, — or, fair ladies, — I 40

would wish you, — or, I would request you, — or,

I would entreat you, — not to fear, not to tremble :
my life for yours. If you think I come hither
as a lion, it were pity of my life : no, I am no
such thing; I am a man as other men are:” — 45

28. afeard] afraid Rowe (ed. 2). 30. yourselves ] Ff, your selfe Qq. 34.

to V] toote Q I ; to it Q 2, Ff. 40. defect] deffect Q 2.

the expression to the number of lines, because his presence might have brought
namely, fourteen, “which is the mea- some feare to the nearest, or that the
sure of that time’s sonnets ; all Shake- sights of the lights and the torches
speare’s are writ in it.” might have commoved his tameness, it

31. God shield us /] Cf. Romeo and was thought meete that the Moore
Juliet , iv. i. 41, “God shield I should should supply that room/ ”

disturb devotion ! ” 33. fearful wildfowl] I think the

32. dreadful thing] Malone finds source of this well-known expression of
“an odd coincidence” here between Bottom’s is to be found in Lord Berners’s
this remark and an incident which Huon of Burdeaux, referred to ante, II.
happened in Scotland in 1594, at the i. 232 : “ Huon beheld him [the gryffon]
christening of the eldest son of James 1. and sawe howe he was a ere well c fowle’
“While the king and queen were at . . . 4 ferful 5 it was to beholde hyiru”
dinner, a chariot was drawn in by ‘a 44. of my life ] i.e. for my life, for
black -moore. This chariot should me. Cf. V. i. 229, “ ’twere pity on
have been drawne in by a lyon, but my life.” .

70 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [acthi.

and there, indeed, let him name his name ; and
tell them plainly, he is Snug tKe joiner.

Quin. Well, it shall be so. But there is two hard
things ; that is, to bring the moonlight into a
chamber; for you know, Pyramus and Thisby 50
meet by moonlight.

Snout Doth the moon shine that night we play our
play?

Bot A calendar, a calendar ! look in the almanac ;

find out moonshine, find out moonshine. 5 5

Quin. Yes, it doth shine that night.

Bot Why, then you may leave a casement of the
great chamber window, where we play, open ;
and the moon may shine in at the casement

47. them ] Qq, him Ff. 52. Snout] Sn. Qq, F 1 ; Snug F 2, 3, 4. 55.

Enter Pucke] Ff, omitted Qq. 57. Bot.] Cet. Q 1.

46. name his name] Malone thinks
it not improbable that Shakespeare
meant to allude to a, fact which hap-
pened in his time at an entertainment
exhibited before Queen Elizabeth. It
is recorded in a MS. collection of
stories entitled Merry Passages and
/easts , MS. Harl. 6395, fob 36^:
44 There was a spectacle presented to
Q: Elizabeth vpon the water, and
amongst others Harr. Golding: was to
represent Arion vpon the Dolphin’s
backe, but finding his voice to be very
hoarse and vnpleasant when he came
to performe it, he teares of his Disguise,
and swears he was none of Arion not
he, hut eene honest Har. Goldingham ;
which blunt discoverie pleasd the
Queene better, then if it had gone
through in the right way ; yet he could
order his voice to an instrument exceed-
ing well.” Scott, in his Kenilworth ,
as Knight reminds us, has transferred
the story to 4 4 honest Mike Lamboume. w

54. calendar ] 44 The popular almanac
of Shakespeare’s time was that of

Leonard Digges (1575), the worthy
precursor of the Moores and the
Murphys. He had a higher ambition
than these his degenerate descendants ;
for, while they prophecy only by the
day and the week, he prognosticated
4 for ever,’ as his title-page shows : A
Prognostication 4 euerlastinge ’ of right
good effect, fruitfully augmented by
the auctour, contayning plain, briefe,
plesaunte, chosen rules to iudge the
Weather by the Sunne, Moone, Starres,
Comets, Rainebow, Thunder, Cloudes,
with other extraordinarye tokens, not
omitting the Aspects of the Planets,
with a briefe iudgement, 4 for ever,*
of Plenty, Lucke, Sickenes, Dearth,
Warres, &c., opening also many nat-
ural causes worthy to be knowen.”
Knight.

58. great chamber] referring, no
doubt, to the large reception-room in
Elizabethan houses. Craig compass
Merry Wives> 1, i. 157, where Slender,
speaking of Pistol picking his pocket,
says, 44 Ay, by these gloves, did he, or

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 71

Quin. Ay ; or else one must come in with a bush of 60
thorns and a lantern, and say he comes to dis-
figure, or to present, the person of moonshine.
Then, there is another thing: we must have a
wall in the great chamber ; for Pyramus and
Thisby, says the story, did talk through the chink 6 5
of a wall.

Snout You can never bring in a wall. What say you,
Bottom ?

Bot Some man or other must present wall: and let

him have some plaster, or some loam, or some 70
rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let

him hold his fingers thus, and through that

✓

cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper.

Quin . If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit

down, every mother’s son, and rehearse your 75

parts. Pyramus, you begin. When you have

spoken your speech, enter into that brake; and

so every one according to his cue.

67. Snout] Sno. Q I ; Sn. Q^, Fi; ^Snu. F 2 ; Snug F 3, 4. 70. loani\

lime Collier. *jl. an d Delius (Collier) ; or let Qq, Ff. 72. thaf\ the
Rowe.

I would I might never come in mine sense of a clump of bushes, brushwood,
own great chamber again else.” or briers ; a thicket (originally meaning

62, 69. present] represent. Cf. The tree stumps or broken branches, and ety-
Tempest , iv. i. 167, “when I presented mologically connected with “break”).
Ceres” (of Ariel). < See Mzrr. Mag. (1563), Jane Shore,

71, 72. and let him ] Dyce thinks, and xviii. , “ what scratting bryers do growe
rightly, that the mistake in the Folio of upon such brakes.” See also the New
“or” for “and” was occasioned by Eng. Nict. s s.v. Craig rather leans to
“ or ” having occurred twice before. the opinion that in this pasage and in in.

77. brake ] This word is used by Eng- ii. 15, “ enter’d in a brake,” the word
lish writers — (1) in the sense of fern, bears the first meaning, but the second
bracken ; see the Promptorium Par - meaning in II. i. 227, * ‘ hide me in the
vulorum (c. 1440), 47, Brake, herbe or brake,” and ixr. i. 109, “through brake,
ferine; and Turner, Herbal (1562), 11. through brier.” It is doubtful, however,
A ij b: “ Felix femina ... is the whether Shakespeare really intended
commen feme or brake which the any valid distinction.

Norther men call a braken ” ; (2) in the 78. cue] in theatrical usage, the con-

72 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actih.

Enter PUCK behind '

Puck . What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here,
So near the cradle of the fairy 'queen ? So

What, a play toward ! I J 11 be an auditor ;

An actor too, perhaps, if I see cause.

Quin. Speak, Pyramus. Thisby, stand forth.

Bot “ Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet,” —

Quin . Odorous, odorous. 85

Bot — “ odours savours sweet :

So hath thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear.

79. Scene //.] Pope. Enter Puck behind] Enter Robin Qq, Ff. 82. too,
perhaps ] to perhappes Q i. 84, 86, 105. Bot.] Pyra. or Pyr. Q 1, Pir. Q 2,
Ff. 84. flowers'] flower Pope; of] have Collier (ed. 2); savours ] Savours
Rowe, savour Haliiwell. 85. Odorous, odorous ] Collier, Odours, odorous Qq,
Odours , odours Ff. 87. hath] that Rowe (ed. 1), doth Rowe (ed. 2).

eluding word or words of a speech
serving as a signal or direction to an-
other actor to enter. See Strype, Ec-
clesiastical Memorials , iii. App. xi. 31,

* ‘ Amen must be answered to the
thanksgevyng, not as to a man’s q in a
playe.” Cf. 102, 103 of this scene, and
v. i. 186, post . Shakespeare, however,
sometimes uses the word in the looser
or more figurative sense of “ the part
assigned to one to play at a particular
juncture, the proper course to take,’*
e,g. Merry Wives, ill. ii. 46, “The
clock gives me my cue”; III. iii. 39,
“Mistress Page, remember you your
cue”; Richard III. ill. iv. 27, “Had
not you come upon your cue ” ; Hamlet,
11. ii. 5S7, “ Had he the motive and the
cue for passion ” ; and King Lear, I. ii.
147, “my cue is villanous melancholy.”
“The origin of the word is uncertain.
It has been taken as = F. queue , tail,
on the ground that it is the tail or end-
ing of the .preceding speech, but no
such use of 4 queue* has ever obtained
in French (where the 4 cue* is called
replique), and no literal sense of

‘queue* or ‘cue’ leading up to this
appears in 16th c. English. On the
other hand, in 16th and early 17th
c. it is found written Q, q, q or
qu ; and it was explained by 17th
c. writers as a contraction for some
Latin word (sc. qualis, quando )
said to have been used to mark in
actors’ copies of plays the points at
which they were to begin. But no
evidence confirming this has been
found.” New Eng. Did.

81. a play toward ] Cf. As You Like
It, v. iv. 35, “ There is, sure, another
flood toward.”

84.] It will be noted that the speeches
delivered at this rehearsal do not cor-
respond with those delivered before the
Duke. The mere repetition of the re-
hearsal at the public performance would,
no doubt, have been wearisome, as
Furness remarks.

84. odious] Cf. Dogberry’s famous
reversal of this blunder in Much Ado ,
iii. v. 18, “ Comparisons are odorous.”

87.] Malone supposes two lines to be
lost here.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 73

But, hark, a voice ! stay thou but here a whit,

And by and by* I will to thee appear, 15 — {Exit

Puck— A stranger Pyramus than e’er played here ! 90

’ [Aside. Exit .

Flu. Must I speak now?

Quin. Ay, marry, must you : for you must understand,
he goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is
to come again.

Flu. “ Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white of hue, 95

Of colour like the red rose on triumphant brier,

Most brisky ju venal, and eke most lovely Jew,

As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire,

I ’ll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny’s tomb ”

Quin. “Ninus’ tomb,” man. Why, you must not 100

speak that yet ; that you answer to Pyramus :

you speak all your part at once, cues and all

Pyramus enter ; your cue is past ; it is, “ never tire.”

S8. a whit] Theobald, a while Qq, Ff. 89. appear , — ] Furness ; appear.
Qq, Ff. [Exit] Qq, Exit Pir. Ff. 90. Puck] Ff, Quin. Qq; — A] Furness. [Exit]
Capell. 91, 95, 104. Flu.] Thys. or This, or Thisb. Qq, Ff. 92, 100, 106.
Quin.] Pet Qq, Ff. 97. brisky juvenal ] brisky juvenile Rowe (ed. 2), briskly
juvenile Hanmer. 103. Enter Pyramus] Rowe.

88. a whit ] Theobald’s correction for tion, in sense, of Pyramus’s : 4 And by
the “awhile” of the Qq, Ff. j think • and by I will to thee appear,— — a
we must have a rhyme to 44 sweet,” stranger Pyramus than e’er play’d here ! ’
corresponding with the rhyme of c 4 hue” adds Puck in anticipation of the Ass-
witli 4 ‘Jew” in the quatrain of Flute, head which he was about to apply. I
95-98, post. 44 Whit,” however, in line find by a MS. marginal note, that I
17, ante, and in every other passage am herein anticipated by Allen.” Fur-
where it occurs in the plays, is used ness.

with a negative. 97, juvenal ] used in the affected or

90. Puck] 4 4 Note that the Qq have euphuistic sense, and evidently ridi-
Quin.y a serious blunder, whereof the culed by Shakespeare. Cf. the 4 4 con-
correction adds much to the value gruent epitheton” of Love's Labours
which we should attach to the text of Lost, 1. ii. 8, 44 my tender juvenal”;
F 1. In a modernised text, I think, a and 44 the juvenal, the prince your
period and a dash should close the master ” of 2 Henry IV. 1. ii. 22.
preceding line, and a dash commence 97. eke] becoming obsolete in Shake-
the present, so as to join the two speare’s time, and only used by him in
speeches, and make Puck’s the continua- burlesque passages.

74 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actio.

Flu, O, — “ As true as truest horse, that yet would never
tire.”

Re-enter PUCK, and Bottom with an ass's head .

Bot. “ If I were true, fair Thisby, I were only thine : ” 105

Quin . O monstrous ! O strange ! we are haunted.

Pray, masters ! fly, masters ! help !

[Exeunt Quince , Snug , Flute, Snout \ and Starveling .
Puck. I ’ll follow you, I ’ll lead you about a round,

Through bog, through brook, through bush, through
brake, through brier :

Sometime a horse 1 11 be, sometime a hound, no
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire ;

And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and
burn,

Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. [Exit

104. Re-enter . . . head] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff. 105. Jf I were true, fair

Thisby] Editor (Hudson conj,); If I were fair, Thisby,' Qq, Ff; If I were, fair
Thisby. Collier (Maloneconj.). 107. [Exeunt . . .1 omitted Qq, The
Clown es all Exit F 1, The Clownes all Exeunt F 2. 108. about] 9 bout Dyce,

ed. 2 (Walker conj.). 109. Through bog, through brook] Lettsom conj,,
Through bog y through mire Johnson conj., Through bog, through burn Ritson
conj. 1 13. Enter Kramus with the Asse head] Ff, omitted Qq.

105. If I were true , fair Thisby ,] Furness, however, suggests “around,”
Malone proposed to punctuate; “ If I as an adverb, and urges “that it may
were, fair Thisby,” meaning, presum- receive the stamp of respectability by
ably, “if I were true,” Bottom’s admission into Shakespeare’s vocabu-
words are spoken in reply to Thisby’s lary ” ; but it is not found either in
“ As true as truest horse,” etc. Hud- Shakespeare or in the Authorised Ver-
son points out that the verse is remark- sion of i6ir,

ably regular throughout the interlude ; 109. through brook] a sound inter-

and the reading of the Qq, Ff is evi- polation. The line is clearly defective
dently not so, but it is commonly re- without it. “Bourn” seems also a
tained on the supposition of its being a suitable word.

blunder of Bottom’s. 113. The Asse-head] Furness aptly

108. a round] a dance, as we say. In remarks: “I cannot but think that
this sense the preceding “ about ” seems this trifling expression stamps this stage-
somewhat superfluous. The Qq, Ff direction as taken from a play-house
print “round” with a capital letter, clearly copy.” See Introduction,
showing that a substantive was intended.

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 75

Bot. Why do they run away? this is a knavery of #

them, to make me *afeard. 1 1 5

Re-enter SNOUT.

Snout . O Bottom, thou art changed ! what do I see
on thee?

BoL What do you see? you see an ass-head of your
own, do you ?

Re-enter QUINCE.

Quin. Bless thee, Bottom ! bless thee ! thou art 1 20
translated. [Exit.

BoL I see their knavery : this is to make an ass of
me ; to fright me, if they could. But I will not
stii- from this place, do what they can: I will
walk up and down here, and I will sing, that 125
they shall hear I am not afraid. [Sings.

“The ousel cock, so black of hue,

With orange-tawny bill,

The throstle with his note so true,

The wren with little quill : ” 130

1 15. Re-enter Snout] Capell; Enter . . , Qq, Ff. 116, 117. see on thee?]
see on thee ? An ass's head? Johnson conj. 119. [Exit Snout] Dyce ; Exit
Capell (at line 1x7); omitted Qq, Ff; Re-enter Quince] Capell; Enter Quince
Q 1 ; Enter Peter Quince Q 2, Ff. 125. I will ] will F 3, 4. [Sings] Pope ;
omitted Qq, Ff. 127. ousel ] Pope, Woo sell Qq, F I, 2, 3 ; Woosel F 4. 130.
with little ] Qq, and little Ff.

1 18, 1 19. you see an ass-head oj your of Errors , II. ii. 191-20X, “This is
own , do you?] Johnson needlessly pro- the fairy land . . . If thou art changed
posed to add to Snout’s preceding to aught, ’tis to an ass.”
speech, “An ass’s head?” but Halli- 127. ousel cock] the male blackbird,
well says the phrase was a vernacular Turdus merula , Cotgrave gives :
one of the day. Cf. Mrs, Quickly in the “Merle: m. A Mearle, Owsell,
Merry Wives , r. iv. 135, “You shall Blackbird. Merle noir. The Black-
have An fool’s head of your own.” bird, or ordinarie Owsell.”

121. translated] transformed. Cf. 129. throstle] the thrush, Turdus
I. i. 191 ; and the passage in Comedy musicus . Furness well remarks that

76 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DIIEAM [act m.

Tita. What angel wakes me from my flowery bed ?

r [Awaking.

BoL [Sing's.] “ The finch, the sparrow, and the lark,

The plain-song cuckoo gray,

Whose note full many a man doth mark,
And dares not answer, nay ; ” — 135

for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a
bird? Who would give a bird the lie, though
he cry “ cuckoo ” never so ?

Tita. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again :

Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note, 140

131. [Awaking] Waking Theobald; Sings waking Pope; omitted Qq, Ff*
132. [Sings] Theobald ; omitted Qq, Ff. 140. enamour'd} enamoured Q I, F 4 ;
enamored Q 2, F I, 2, 3.

the spelling “Trassell” in the Qq and without attaining a minor sixth. It
F I of the Merchant of Venice , 1. ii. may therefore be said to have done
65 [“if a throstle sing, he falls straight much for musical science, because from
a capering”], probably with a broad this bird has been derived the minor
“a, 53 gives the pronunciation. There scale, the origin of which has puzzled
is little doubt that the sounds were so many ; the cuckoo’s couplets being
hardly distinguishable. Cf. the rhyme the minor third sung downwards,
of “crab” with “bob” in 11. i. 48, 49. Yarrell, British Birds , ii. 188, thus
130. quill} pipe, note; not, as describes the colour : “ The head, neck,
Schmidt thinks, “ wing-feather.” back and upper tail-coverts bluish -

133* plain-song cuckoo gray] “plain- grey . . . chin, neck and upper part
song 35 here probably refers to plain of the breast ash-grey. 53
' melody without any variation or accom- 135. answer , nay} “Bottom here re-
payment. Chaucer, in The Cuckoo fers to an opinion very prevalent in
and Nightingale, 1 18, makes the cuckoo Shakespeare’s time that the unfaithful-
say, “For my song is both true and ness of a wife was always guided by a
plains P Chappell, Popular Music destiny which no human power could
of the Olden Time (p. 51 note), says : avert.” Halliwell. For a very similar
“Prick-song meant harmony written idea, see Merry Wives , v. i. 245, 246;
or pricked down, in opposition to plain- “ In love the heavens themselves do
song, where the descant rested with the guide the state ;

will of the singer”; and Plaiting, Money buys lands, and wives are

Ornithology of Shakespeare^ 1871, p. sold by fate.”

150, says; “The cuckoo, as long ago Cf. also Love's Labour's Lost, v. ii. 908.
remarked by John PI ey wood {Epigrams ^ 1 36. set his wit to] Cf. Troilus and
black letter, 1587), begins to sing early Cressida , n. i. 94, “Will you set your
in the season with the interval of a wit to a foofs?” Craig aptly remarks
minor third ; the bird then proceeds to that the expressson “ I would not even
a major third, next to a fourth, then to my wits to you” used to be common in
a fifth, after which its voice breaks, Ireland, at least in the north.

sc.!.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 77

So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape ; #

And thy fair virtuete force perforce doth move me,

On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee.

Bot Methinks, mistress,' yon should have little reason

for that : and yet, to say the truth, reason and 145
love keep little company together nowadays ;
the more the pity, that some honest neighbours
will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek
upon occasion.

Tita. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. 150

Bot . Not so, neither : but if I had wit enough to get
out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine
own turn.

Tita. Out of this wood do not desire to go;

Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. 155
I am a spirit of no common rate ;

The summer still doth tend upon my state,

And I do love thee: therefore go with me;

I 'll give thee fairies to attend on thee;

And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, 160

141-143.] as in Q I. In Q 2, Ff, line 143 On the first . . . precedes line 141
So is mine eye ... 1 44. mistress ] mistresse Qq, F 1 ; maistresse F 2, 3 ;
maistress F 4.

148. gleek] a word of obscure origin ; “Limer ... to gleeke, or looke askew
possibly a diminutive of “glee”; and at.” As a substantive, see Lyly,
used both as a verb (as in this passage) Etiplmes (ed. Arb. 291), “ What greater
and a substantive, which is much more discurtesie . . . then with so many
common. As a verb, in the transitive nips, such bitter girdes, such disdainful
sense, to trick, circumvent; and in- glickes to answere him that honoured
transitive (as here), to make a jest hir/ 5 See also Romeo and Juliet , iv.
or gibe (at a person). Cf. Henry V. v. 115, “ What will you give us? No
v. i. 78, “ I have seen you gleeking money, on my faith, but the gleek ” ;
and galling at this gentleman/* Nashe, and New Eng. Diet., s.v.

Strange Heims, 1593, Works (ed. 156. spirit . « .] Cf. III. ii. 388,
Grosart), ii. 197, ‘‘Not mee alone OberonV“ But we are spirits of another
did hee revile . . . but glickt, at Pap- sort/*
hatchet once more/* Cotgrave has

78 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actih.

f

r And sing, while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep :
And I will purge thy mortal grossness so,

That thou shalt like an airy spirit go. —

Peaseblossom ! Cobweb! Mote] and Mustard-seed !

Enter Four Fairies .

First Fai , Ready.

Sec. Fai . And I.

Third Fai . And I.

Fourth Fai . Where shall we go? 165

Tita . Be kind and courteous to this gentleman ;

Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes ;

Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,

With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries ;

The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees, 170
And, for night tapers, crop their waxen thighs,

161. dost] doth F 3,4. 164. Peaseblossom! . . . Mustard- seed !] Qq. Enter

Pease-blossome ... Mustard-seede and four fairies Ff (as a stage-direction).
Mote] Grant White; Moth Qq, Ff. 165. Scene ni.] Pope. Enter . . .]
Enter foure Fairyes Qq (Fairies Q 2). First Fai. Ready , . . All. Where shall
we go ?] Capell ; Fairies. Ready ; and /, and /, and /, where shall we go ? Qq,
Ff {Readie: goe ? Q 1); I Fai. Ready ; 2 Fai. And I; 3 Fai. And 1 ; 4 Fai.
Where shall we go ? Steevens, 1793 (Farmer conj.).

164. Mote] The form“ Moth ” is the capricious poet, honest Ovid, was among
invariable spelling in the Qq, Ff. See, the Goths.” I see nothing whatever to
for example, v. i. 324, where the old be gained by the retention of the old
copies have “A Moth wil turne the spelling.

ballance,” the pronunciation of the 168. apricocks] The earlier and more
word being undoubtedly “mote.” See correct spelling of “ apricots.” See
also Love's Labour’s I.ost y iv. iii. Ellacombe, Plant Lore of Shakespeare ,
161 : s.v .

u You found his Moth, the King your 168. dewberries] Most probably the
Moth did see ; fruit of the dwarf mulberry or knot-

But I a beame doe finde in each of berry, the fruit being still, as Halliweli
three ” ; remarked, called the dewberry by the

King John, iv. i. 92, <£ 0 heaven, that Warwickshire peasantry, and exceed-
there were but a moth in yours ” ; and ingly plentiful in the lanes between
As You Like It, in. iii. 7, “I am here Stratford-on-Avon and Aston Cantlowe,
with thee and thy goats as the most See Ellacombe, supra , s.v.

j:

sc. 1.3 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 79

And %ight them at the fiery glow-worm’s eyes,

To have my love Jo bed, and to arise ; ?

And pluck the wings from painted butterflies,

To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes : 175

Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.

First Fai. Hail, mortal !

Sec. Fai. Hail !

Third Fai. Hail !

Fourth Fai \ Hail ! 1 80

Bot. I cry your worships’ mercy, heartily. I beseech
your worship’s name,

Cob . Cobweb.

Bot. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good

master Cobweb: if I cut my finger, I shall 185
make bold with you. — -Your name, honest gentle-
man?

Peas . Peaseblossom.

Bot. I pray you, commend me to mistress Squash,

your mother, and to master Peascod, your father. 190
Good master Peaseblossom, I shall desire you of
more acquaintance too. — Your name, I beseech
you, sir ?

177-180. First Fai. Hail, mortal . . . Fourth Fai. Hail!] Capell ; I Fai,
Haile, mortal!, haile ! 2 Fai. Haile ; 3 Fai. Haile Qq, Ff. 181. worships ’]
worships Rowe. 184. you of] Qq, Ff; of you Rowe, 191. you of] Qq,
of you Ff. 192. too] to Qq, F 1.

172. glow-worm’s eyes] Shakespeare 184. desire you of] Cf. III. i. 44,
here uses a certain amount of poetic ante , “ it were pity of my life ” ; and
licence, and does not see with the eye Chapman’s An Humorous Dayes Mirth
of the naturalist. The phosphorescence, (Works, vol. i. p. 55), <f I do desire you
as is well known, comes from the abdo- of more acquaintance.”

men of the female insect. Cf. III. ii. 189. Squash] a soft unripe peascod.
188, “ eyes of light.” Cf. Twelfth Night, 1. v. 165, “not yet

173, To have my love to bed] Cf. old enough for a man, nor young
Taming of the Shrew, Induction, scene enough for a boy ; as a squash is before
ii. 39, “ we ’ll have thee to a couch.” 3 tis a peascod.”

80 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actio.

Mus. Mustard-seed.

Bot, Good master Mustard-seed, I know your patience 195
well : that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath
devoured many a gentleman pi your house: I
promise you, your kindred hath made my eyes
water ere now. I desire your more acquaintance,
good master Mustard-seed. 200

Tita . Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower.

The moon, methinks, looks with a watery eye ;

And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,
Lamenting some enforced chastity.

Tie up my love’s tongue, bring him silently. 205

[Exeunt.

SCENE II . — A nother part of the Wood,

Enter OBERON.

Obe . I wonder if Titania be awaked ;

Then, what it was that next came in her eye,

Which she must dote on in extremity.

Enter PUCK.

Here comes my messenger. — How now, mad spirit?
What night-rule now about this haunted grove ? 5

194.] After this line F I inserts Peas . Pease-blossome ; omitted in F 2, 3, 4.

Scene IT.

Scene it,] Capell ; Scene IV. Pope. Theobald continues the scene.
Another . . . Wood] Capell. Enter Oberon] Enter King of Fairies and Robin
Goodfellow Qq ; Enter King of Fairies (Pharies F i), solus Ff. 3. Enter
Puck] Ff, omitted Qq. 4. spirit] sprite Pope. 5. haunted] gatmted F 1.

202, 203, The moon . . . she weeps'] (if these lines are in fact 'Shake-'
"alluding to the supposed origin of speare’s).
dew in the moon.” Walker, Crit. iii.

.48. Cf. Macbeth 1 in. v. 23 : Scene- IT,.

" Upon the comer of the moon 5. night-rule ] "night-revel, night-

There hangs a vaporous drop pro- sport.” Dyce. “ Rule, Apparently put
found ” for behaviour or conduct ; with some

sc.li] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 81

Puck . Myyriistress with a monster is in love.

Near to her close said consecrated bower,

While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,

A crew of patches, >rude mechanicals,

That work for bread upon Athenian stalls, I o

Were met together to rehearse a play,

Intended for great Theseus’ nuptial day.

The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort,

Who Pyramus presented, in their sport

Forsook his scene, and enter’d in a brake : 1 5

When I did him at this advantage take,

An ass’s nole I fixed on his head ;

6, 7. love. . . . Near . . . bower,] Rowe ; lone, Neere , . . . bower Q 1 ; hue,
Neere . . . bower , Q 2, Ff. 13. thick-skin ] thick-skull Hanmer. • 14.
sport] Rowe ; sport, Qq, Ff. 17. nole ] nowl Johnson.

allusion perhaps to the frolics called tures are brutish, more or lesse, accord-
mis-rule. Nares’s Glossary. Cf. Twelfth ing as their skin is thicker or thinner
Night , II. iii. 130, “Mistress Mary, if . . . And hereto they bring men also,
you prized my lady’s favour at anything as a proofe, who are thicke skinned,
more than contempt, you would not and more brawnie; for to be more
give means for this uncivil rule/’ Halli- grosse of sence and understanding.”
well quotes from the Statutes of the 13. barren] dull, brainless. Cf.
Streets of London (Stowe, p. 666), “ No Twelfth Night , 1. v. 90, “ such a barren
man shall, after the houre of nine at the rascal”; and Hamlet , in. ii. 46, “ some
night, keep any rule whereby any such quantity of barren spectators.”
sudden outcry be made in the still of 13. sort] crew, company. Cf. line 21,
the' night,” etc. infra; Richard II, iv. i. 246, “a sort

9. patches] “patch” is properly a of traitors”; 2 Henry VI. n. i, 167,
domestic fool or clown, and is used also “a sort of naughty persons,” and in.
as a term of contempt, perhaps derived ii. 277, “ a sort of tinkers ” ; and
from the Italian pazzo, or from his wear- Richard III V. iii. 316, “a sort of
ing a 4 ‘ patched ” or parti-coloured coat, vagabonds. ”

See post, iv. i. 212, “man is but a 17. nole] “A grotesque word for head,
patched fool.” In the present passage like pate, noddle . , . In the Wicliffite
it means probably only meanly-dressed versions of Genesis xlix. 8, where the
fellows or “tatterdemalions” (Johnson), earlier has 4 thin hondis in the skulles

12. nuptial-day] “wedding-day” in of thin enemyes, 5 the later has 4 thin

II. i. 139. hondis schulen be in the nollis of thin

13, thick-skin] Cf. Meny Wives , iv. enemyes’; the Latin being cervicibus .
v. 2, “What wouldst thou have, boor ? Probably ‘nole, 5 like ‘noddle/ was the
what, thickskin ? ” and Holland’s Pliny back part of the head, and so included
(Bk. xi, ch. 9), p. 346, “Some measure the neck. Cotgrave has ‘ Occipital . . .
not the finenesse of spirit and wit by belonging to the noddle ; or hinder part
the puritie of bloud, but suppose crea- of the head. 5 ” Wright.

6

82

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act in.

Anon, his Thisbe must be answered,

And forth my mimic comes. * When they him spy,

As wild geese that the creeping fowler eye, 20

Or russet-pated choughs, many in sort,

Rising and cawing at the gun's report,

Sever themselves, and madly sweep the sky;

So, at his sight, away his fellows fly ;

And, at our stamp, here o'er and o’er one falls; 25

19. mimic] Minnick Q I ; Minnock Q 2 ; Mimmick F I, 2, 3 ; Mimick F 4.
21. russet-pated ] F 4 ; russet pated Q 1 ; missed paled Q 2 ; russedpated F 1, 2,
3; russetpatted Wright (Bennett conj.) withdrawn. 25. our stamp ] a stump
Johnson (Theobald conj.), our stamp Theobald conj.

19. mimic ] actor. Malone quotes grizle, ash-coloured* hoarie, whitish/’
from Dekker’s Guls Hornebooke , 1609, In Shakespeare’s day, and long before
p. 253, ed. Grosart, “and draw what and after, chough and jackdaw seem to
troope you can from the stage after you ; have been practically synonymous. See
the Mimicks are beholden to you, for the passages in Holland’s Pliny , x. 29
allowing them elbow roome” ; and also (vol. i. p. 285), and xvii. 14 (vol. p. i.
from the Satiromastix of Marston and 516). Cf. King Lear, iv. vi. 13, “the
Dekker : ‘ 4 and took’st mad Ieronimpes crows and choughs that wing the midway
part, to get service among the Mim- air,” and Craig’s note thereon : “also
ickes.” Wright quotes from Herrick’s compare Statute 24, Henry vm. cap.
The Wake , ii. 63 : 10, ‘ Rookes, crowes, and choughes do

“ Morris-dancers thou shalt see, yeerely devour and consume a wonder-
Marian too in Pagentrie : ful quantity of corne and graine ’ (ed.

And a Mimick to devise 1636, p. 528). Still it is quite likely

Many grinning properties.” that the bird here referred to may have

2 1 . russetpated choughs] grey -headed been the Cornish chough, Pyrochorax
jackdaws. “The jackdaw, and not the graculus , which is now sometimes to be
Cornish chough or red-legged crow, is met with on Beachy Plead, and may
the bird referred to here. The head of well then have been common on Dover
the jackdaw about the ear-coverts and Cliff.” Shakespeare, accompanying his
neck is ‘ grey ’ ; and ‘ russet ’ meant not brother actors in their provincial tours,
‘red,’ but ‘grey’ or ‘brown,’ the colour was certainly familiar with Dover ; but
of undyed wool, in most cases ; although even if the Cornish chough was common
sometimes it was loosely applied.” there in his time, it is more probable
Marshall. In the Promptorium Par - that in this passage of the Midsummer -
mdorum {circa 1440) we find, “ Russet, Nighfs Dream , written as it must have
Gresius,” which is the French gris ; in been in the late autumn of 1594, he
Junius’s Nomenclator (1587), “ JRauus was thinking only of the jackdaw, the
. . . Fatme, tang, rosset , russet or tawnie more common bird of the Warwickshire
colour ” ; and in Fiorio’s A Worlds of and Gloucestershire fields.

Wordes (1598), “ Grigietto, a fine graie 25 .at our stamp] Johnson says:
or sheepes russet.” ' Cotgrave (1611) “ Fairies are never represented stamp-

has “ gris. m, ise. f, s Gray, light-russet , ing, or of a size that should give force

sc.il] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 83

He murder cries, and help from Athens calls.

Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong,
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong :

For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch ;

Some sleeves; some hats: from yielders all things
catch. 30

I led them on in this distracted fear,

And left sweet Pyramus translated there :

When in that moment, so it came to pass,

Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass.

Obe, This falls out better than I could devise. 35

But hast thou yet latch’d the Athenian’s eyes

30. yielders] F 3, 4 ; yeelders Qq, F 1, 2. 36. latch'd] latcht Q 1, F 3, 4 5

lacht Q 2, F i, 2 ; lech'd Ilanmer ; hatch'd Daniel conj.

to a stamp ... I read at ‘a stump. 5 ”
So Drayton, Nymphidia (ed. 1748}, 166 :

“ A ‘stump’ doth ‘trip him 5 in his
pace,

Down fell poor Hob upon his face,
etc. 55

But, on the other hand, Steevens well
remarks, “The ‘stamp 5 of a fairy
might be efficacious though not loud ;
neither is it necessary to suppose, when
supernatural beings are spoken of, that
the size of the agent determines the
force of the action* See iv. i. go, post :

“ Sound, music ! Come, my queen,
take hands with me,

And * rock 5 the ground whereon
these sleepers be.”

And Ritson quotes Reginald Scot’s
Discoverie of Witchcraft , 1584 :

“ Robin Goodfellow . . . would chafe
exceedingly if the maid or good wife
of the house . . . laid anie clothes
for him beesides his messe of white
bread and milke, which was his standing
fee. For in that case he saith, What
have we here? Hemton, hamten,
here will I nevermore tread nor
stampen,” Furness remarks that
“ Puck’s modem change to c our, 5

when he was the sole agent, is some-
what unaccountable,” and quotes a
highly ingenious conjecture of Allen
(in MS.): “‘At one stamp, 5 — as we
might say ; at one bound, at one rush ;
for they started so instantly, all to-
gether, that all their feet struck the
ground, on starting to run, with one
stamp, one noise.”

31. distracted] See “feigning, 55 1. i.31,

36. latch'd] To “latch with love-
juice” is to “drop” love-juice upon,
or simply to moisten, smear, or anoint
therewith. There has been consider-
able diversity of opinion among com-
mentators as to the true meaning of the
word in Shakespeare. But ‘ £ * drop 5
the liquor,” 11. i. 178, seems fairly
conclusive, modified, however, in
some degree by “‘streak 5 her eyes,”
11. i. 257; and “‘anoint 5 his eyes,”
261; also “‘crush 5 this herb into”
in in. ii. 366. Skeat points out that
the word here used has nothing to do
with “latch,” “to catch, 55 and that
the explanation depends upon the fact
that there are two distinct verbs, both
spelt “latch,” which are wholly un-
related to each other. He says: “If

84 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actih.

p

r With the love-juice, as I did bid thee do?

Puck. I took him sleeping, — that is finish’d too, —

And the Athenian woman by his side ;

That when he waked, of force she must be eyed. 40

Enter DEMETRIUS and Hermia.

Obe. Stand close ; this is the same Athenian.

Puck. This is the woman, but not this the man.

Dent. O, why rebuke you him that loves you so ?

Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe.

Her . Now I but chide, but I should use thee worse; 45

For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse.

If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,

Being o’er shoes in blood, plunge in knee-deep,

38. Puck] Rowe; Rob. Qq, Ff; too] to Qq, F 1. 40. waked] wa£t Qq,

Ff; wakes Pope. 41. Scene v.] Pope. 42. Puck] Rowe; Rob. Qq, Ff.
48, 49. Being . . . too] Rowe (ed. 2) ; one line in Qq, Ff. 48. knee-deep]
Phelps, Craig (Coleridge sed qucere Maginn conj.) ; the deep Qq, Ff.

we will give up the A. -S. gelceccan taile, and whips about, turning his
and consider the common English verb taile to the enemie, and therein latcheth
‘to leak, 5 we shall soon come to a and receiveth all the strokes of the
satisfactory result. To ‘leak 5 means Aspis. 55 Dyce adopts Hanmer’s inter-
to admit drops of water, and Match 5 pretation, “letch’d, licked over, 55 Fr.
is practically the causal form. The lecher , to lick ; but this seems in-
nearest related A.-S. word is leccan , admissible.

to moisten, wet, irrigate. 55 In the 48. der shoes in blood] Steevens
other passages where “latch 55 is used compares Macbeth , in. iv. 136:
by Shakespeare, it certainly has the “I am in blood

sense of “catch, 55 from A.-S. Iceccan Stepp’d in so far, that should I
or gelceccan . See Macbeth, iv. iii. 195 : wade no more

“ But I have words Returning were as tedious as give

That would be howl’d out in the o’er”;

desert air, and Wright, the Two Gentlemen of

Where hearing should not latch Verona, 1. i. 24:

them”; “ Pro. For he was more than over

and Sonnet, cxiii. 6 : shoes in love.

“ For it \i.e. the eye] no form de- Val. ’Tis true ; ior you are over,
livers to the heart boots in love. 55

Of bird, or flower, or shape, which Cf. also Comedy of Errors , III. ii. 106,
it doth latch.” “ A man may go ovei shoes in the

And Holland’s Pliny, viii. 24, of the grime of it. 55

Ichneumon : . “ In light he sets up his 48. knee-deep ] It is a matter of some

SC. IT.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 85
And Kill me too. ......

/ The sun was not true unto the day, 50

As to me : would he have stol’n away
From sleeping Hermia ? I *11 believe as soon,

This whole earth may be bored, and that the moon
May through the centre creep, and so displease
Her brother's noon-tide with the Antipodes. 5 5

49. too] to Qq ; And kill me too , nor leave me here to weep Editor conj. 52.

From ] Frow Q 1, 54. displease ] disease Hanmer, displace Long MS. and D.

Wilson conj., disseise Annandale conj. 55: with the ] H tld Warburton.

doubt whether this excellent and cer-
tain emendation is to be attributed to
Coleridge or Maginn. Walker {Crit.
iii, 49) says, “ Read, with Coleridge,
c knee- deep/” Compare Winter's
Tale , I. ii. 186, “ Inch-thick, knee-
deep, o’er head and ears a fork’d one ! ”
and Heywood, Woman Killed with
Kindness , Dodsley, vii. 268 :

‘‘Come, come, let’s in ;

Once over shoes, we are straight o’er
head in sin.”

Dyce adopts this reading, attributing
it to Coleridge, most probably on the
authority of Walker simply, but giving
no reference to any passage in Coleridge.
I agree with Furness in his “ strong
suspicion ” that the emendation is to be
attributed to Maginn. In the latter’s
Shakespeare Papers , i860, p. 138 note,
h$ says: “Should we not read ‘ knee
deep ’ ? As you are already over your
shoes, wade on until the bloody tide
reaches your knees. In Shakespeare’s
time ‘ knee ’ was generally spelt ‘ kne ’ ;
and between ‘ the ’ and ‘ kne ’ there is
not much difference in writing.”
Furness objects on the ground that
“ in water knee-deep we can certainly
wade, but if can hardly be said that
we can ‘plunge’ into it.” But the
objection scenes to me untenable if
not hypercritical. Shakespeare, I
think, uses * f plunge ’’ here, not in the
sense of complete immersion — other-
wise how then could Demetrius kill
Hermia too— but simply in the general

sense of a further advance in the tide
of blood on the part of Demetrius ; and
besides the expression * ‘ the deep,”
i.e. of blood, as a metaphor, seems
highly overstrained and needless for
this particular purpose, i.e. the killing
of Hermia.

49. And kill me too] made a separate
line by Rowe, who is followed by all
editors. The broken line may or may
not be explained by the change of
subject, but I am inclined to think
that some words have dropped out,
forming a line rhyming with the pre-
ceding couplet, and making with them
a triplet. It is noteworthy that there
are triplet lines occurring in this scene,
in 159-161 and 166- 168.

54. the centre] i.e . of the earth, and
therefore of the universe, according to
the Ptolemaic astronomy. Cf. Hamlet ,
II. ii. 159, “though it [truth] were
hid indeed Within the centre.”

54. displease] “It is pretty certain
‘ displease’ is a corruption of the text,”
says Marshall, and I am inclined to
agree with him. He proceeds, “I
cannot make any sense of ‘ displease ’ ;
‘displace’ would seem a more natural
word to use; but it does not rhyme
with ‘Antipodes.’ Dr. Annandale
suggests, very ingeniously, ‘ disseise ’ =
to deprive of, to dispossess; a word
used by Spenser and Drayton.” For
the use of “disease,” cf. Coriolanus ,
I. iii. 1 1 7, “As she is now, she will
but disease our better mirth,”

86 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM actio,

It cannot be but thou hast murder'd him
So should a murderer look, so dread, so grim.

Dam. So should the murder'd look ; and so should I,
Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty :

Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear, 60
As yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere.

Her . What 's this to my Lysander ? where is he ?

Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me ?

Dam . I had rather give his carcase to my hounds.

Her . Out, dog! out, cur! thou drivest me past the
bounds 65

Of maiden's patience. Hast thou slain him then ?
Henceforth be never number'd among men !

O ! once tell true, tell true, even for my sake;

Durst thou have look'd upon him, being awake,

And hast thou kill'd him sleeping ? O brave touch ! 70
Could not a worm, an adder, do so much ?

An adder did it ; for with doubler tongue
Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung.

Dem . You spend your passion on a mispris'd mood:

57, 60. murderer] murtherer Q I. 57. dread ] Pope; dead Qq, Ff. 58.
murder'd ] murthered Q I, murdered Q 2, murderer Ff. 60. look] looke Qq,
looks Ff. 64. I had] Cl 1, Ide Q 2, I'de Ff, I*d Rowe, Pad Pope. 65.
bounds ] bonds Q 2. 68. true,] true : Q 1 ; true Q 2, F 1. 69. have] Qq, a Ff.

70. touch] iutch Qq, Ff. 72. An] And F 2. 74. on] in Steevens conj.

57. dread] I think Pope’s reading is 4 dread J is implied in 4 grim 5 ; by
justified by the context. Steevens, in 4 dead 5 is meant ‘pale/”
defence of “dead,” compares 2 Henry 70. touch] exploit or stroke.
IF. I. i, 71 : Johnson. c 4 A touch anciently signified

44 Even such a man, so faint, so a trick or feat . Ascham has, 4 The
spiritless, shrewd touches of many curst boys.’

So dull, so dead in look, so woe- And, in the old story of Hozvleglas ,

begone”; 4 For at all times he did some mad

but it is difficult to see the bearing of touch.’” Hudson. \ .

the quotation on the present passage. 74. on a mispris'd mood] i.e. in mis-

Capell remarks : 44 Pope’s change to taken anger. Cf. Two Gentlemen of

sc. n*J MIDSXJMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 87

i am kot guilty of Lysander’s blood ; 75

Nor is he dead, for aught that I can tell. *

Her . I pray thee, tell me, then, that he is well.

Dem . An if I could, what should I get therefore.

Her . A privilege, never to see me more.

And from thy hated presence part I so : 80

See me no more, whether he be dead or no. [Exit.

Dem . There is no following her in this fierce vein :

Here, therefore, for a while I will remain.

So sorrow’s heaviness doth heavier grow

For debt that bankrupt sleep doth sorrow owe; 85

Which now in some slight measure it will pay,

If for his tender here I make some stay.

[Lies down and sleeps .

Obe> What hast thou done ? thou hast mistaken quite,

And laid the love-juice on some true-love’s sight :

Of thy misprision must perforce ensue 90

Some true-love turn’d, and not a false turn’d true.

76. aught] Theobald (ed. 2) ; ought Qq, Ff. 78. An] Capell ; A'nd Qq, Ff.
So, 81. And . . . more] So in Pope; one line in Qq, Ff. 80. w] Pope;
omitted Qq, Ff. 81. he be] he's Pope. 85. sleep] Rowe; slippe Q 1 ; slip
Q 2, Ff. 87. [Lies down and sleeps] Collier : Ly doune Q r ; lie downe
Q .2, Ff. 88. Scene vi.] Pope. 91. turn'd , and not] turn'd false , not
Hanmer.

Verona, iv. i. 51, “Who, in my and legal character about these lines
mood, I stabb’d unto the heart. 3 ’ Cf. which smells of an attorney’s office.”
“misprision,” line 90, post ; and for Possibly ; and the explanation may lie
the legal significations of the word in Shakespeare’s keen recollection of
in the old statutes, see Rushton’s the paternal misfortunes and legal
Shakespeare Illustrated by the Lex embarrassments before his departure
Scripta , 1870, p. 79 sqq* from Stratford.

80. part / so ;] Pope’s emendation is 87. [Lies down and sleeps] The stage-
necessary and undoubtedly correct, but direction in Q I and the Folio, in the
hardly his punctuation. That of the imperative mood, betrays the play-
Qq, Ff, namely, the colon after “I,” house copy.

seems perhaps preferable, 90. misprision ] mistake. Cf. 74,

85-87.] Marshall remarks that ante.

“there is an incongruous, prosaic,

88 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS D$EAM [acthi.

Then fate o'er-rules ; that, one man holding troth,

-A million fail, confounding oath on oath.

■f=» :

Ode , About the wood go swifter than the wind,

And Helena of Athens look thou find: 95

All fancy-sick she is, and pale of cheer
With sighs of love, that costs the fresh blood
dear :

By some illusion see thou bring her here ;

I 'll charm his eyes against she do appear.

Puck . I go, I go, my lord\ look how I go; i&TT

Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow. [Exit.

Ode. Flower of this purple dye,

Hit with Cupid's archery,

92. Puck] Rowe; Robi. Q 1; Rob. Q 2, F£; that ,] for Hanmer. 94.
Obe.] Ob. Qq, F 1, 3, 4; Rob. F 2. 97. costs] Qq, Ff; cost Hanmer.

99. do] Q 2, doe Q 1, doth Ff. 100. Puck] Rowe, Robin Qq, Rob. Ff; my
lord ] Editor; look] look, master Hanmer. ion [Exit] Q 2, Ff; omitted Q 1.

92, 93. Then . . . oathj Puck's ex-
cuse for his “misprision” is, according
to Marshall, “that fate o 7 er-rules
chance here ; for the chance is that,
for one man true to his oath in love,
one finds a million who are false to it.”

96. fancy -sick] love-sick. Cf. I. i.
* 55 *

96. cheer] “ < Cheer 5 is from the old
French chore, which Cotgrave thus
explains : £ Tht face, visage, counten-
ance, favour, looks, aspect. 5 lienee
it naturally came to mean that which
affects the face, 01 gives it expression. 55
Hudson.

97. costs] Nearly all modern editors
follow Theobald in printing the plural
“cost,” but the change is unnecessary.
See Abbott, § 247.

97. dear] alluding to the old and
still prevalent superstition that every
sigh cost a drop of the heart’s blood.
So 2 Henry VI. Ill, il 61 :

“Might . . . blood-consuming sighs
recall his life.

I would be; blind with weeping,
sick with groans,

Look pale as primrose, with blood-
drinking sighs” ;

3 Henry VI. IV. iv. 22 :

“ Ay, ay, for this I draw in many a
tear,

And stop the rising of blood-
sucking sighs 55 ;
and Hamlet, iv. vii. 123:

“And then this ‘should* is like a
spendrift sigh,

That hurts by easing.”

100. my lord] Cf. for this necessary
interpolation, 11. i. 268 ; 378, post ;
and iv. i. 104.

1 01. Tartar’ s bow] Cf, Romeo and
Juliet, r. iv. 5, “Rearing a Tartar’s
painted bow of lath.” Douce quotes
Golding’s Ovid, Rook x, :

‘ e and though that she
Did fly as swift as Arrow from a
Turkye bowe.”

Ariel in The Tempest, v. i. 102,
“drinks the air before him.”

sc. n.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 89

* Sink in apple of his eye !

When his Jove he doth espy * 105

Let her shine as gloriously
As the Venus of the sky.

When thou wak’st, if she be by,

Beg of her for remedy.

Re-enter PUCK.

Puck. Captain of our fairy band, 1 10

Helena is here at hand ;

And the youth, mistook by me,

Pleading for a lover’s fee ;

Shall we their fond pageant see ?

Lord, what fools these mortals be ! 115

Obe. Stand aside : the noise they make

Will cause Demetrius to awake.

Puck . Then will two at once woo one ;

That must needs be sport alone ;

And those things do best please me 120
That befall preposterously.

109. her ] her, Q 1. Re-enter . . .] Capell ; Enter . . Qq, Ff,

113. lovers fee] Cf. Peele’s Arraign- 115. these mortals ] Cf. “the human
ment of Paris, 1. ii. 87 (Bullen), “ And mortals” of 11. i. 101.

I will have a lover’s fee ; they say un- 119. sport alone ] i.e. sport that
kiss’d unkind.” Halliwell says that nothing can match, unparalleled. See
three kisses were properly a “lover’s Abbott, § 18. Cf. 7 welfth Night ,
fee,” and quotes from an MS. ballad, I. i. 15 :

circa 1650 : “ So full of shapes is fancy,

“How many, saies Batt ; That it alone is high fantastical ” ;

. Why three, sales Matt, and Antony and Cleopatra, iv. vL

For that’s a mayden’s fee.” 30, “I am alone the villain of the

Furness is of opinion that the meaning earth.”

is rather “estate, right by virtue of his 121. preposterously ] literally “in the
title as lover.” The word “pleading” wrong order,” as in Othello , 1. iii. 62,
perhaps lends some weight to this “For nature so preposterously to
view. err.”

90 MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM [acthi.

^ Enter LYSANDER and ^HELENA.

Lys. Why should you think that I should woo in scorn ?
Scorn and derision never come in tears :

Look, when I vow, I weep ; and vows so born,

In their nativity all truth appears. 125

How can these things in me seem scorn to you,
Bearing the badge of faith, to prove them true ?

HeL You do advance your cunning more and more.

When truth kills truth, O devilish holy fray !

These vows are Hermia’s ; will you give her o’er ? 130
Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh :
Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,

Will even weigh ; and both as light as tales.

Lys . I had no judgment when to her I swore.

HeL Nor none, in my mind, now you give her o’er. 135
Lys . Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you.

Deni. . [Azva&mg] O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine !
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?

122. Scene vn.] Pope; Scene vi. Warburton. 123. come] Qq, comes Ff.
137. [Awaking] omitted Qq ; Awa. Ff (end of 136).

124,125. vows so born . . . appears] 267, “Mark but the badges of these men,
Furness thus paraphrases, and rightly, my lords, Then say if they be true. 35
I think: 4 ‘ vows, thus born, appear, 129.] “If Lysander’s present pro-
from their very nativity, to be all pure testations are true, they destroy the
truth.” “Appears,” he says, “should truth of his former vows to Hermia,
be, according to modern grammar, in and the contest between these two
the plural ; its subject is ‘ vows * — it is truths, which in themselves are holy,
singular merely by attraction ; ‘all must in the issue be devilish and end in
truth 3 is the predicate, not the subject.” the destruction of both.” Wright.

See Abbott, §§ 417, 376, who thinks 133. tales] CL Antony and Cleopatra,
the construction of “vows so born” to II. ii. 136 :

be an absolute construction. c * Truths would be tales

1 27. badge] “This is an allusion to Where now half tales be truths.”
the badges (i>e. family crests) anciently 136.] Walker suspected a line was
worn on the sleeves of servants and lost here,
retainers, ” Steevens. Cf. Tempest , V. i.

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 91

Crystal Is muddy. O, how ripe in show

Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow! " 140

That pure congealed white, high Taurus’ snow,

Farm’d with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
When thou hold’st up thy hand : O let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss !

HeL O spite ! O hell ! I see you all are bent 145

To set against me, for your merriment.

If you were civil, and knew courtesy,

You would not do me thus much injury.

Can you not hate me, as I know you do,

But you must join in flouts to mock me too? * 150

If you were men, as men you are in show,

You would not use a gentle lady so;

To vow, and swear, and superpraise my parts,

When I am sure you hate me with your hearts.

144. princess] pureness Hanmer, impress Staunton (Collier conj. ), purest Lettsom
conj., essence Cartwright conj. 145. all are ] are all Ff. 150. join injlouts]
Hanmer; joyne in soules Qq, Ff (Jayne,- Q 1); must join insolents Warburton ;
join in scorns or in scoffs Johnson conj.; join in scouts Blackstone conj.; join,
ill souls Tyrwhitt conj.; join , in sooth, Bailey conj. 5 join insults Spedding
conj.; too] to Q I, F 1, 2. 151. were ] Qq, are Ff.

139. ripe] Cf. Venus and Adonis , 144. seal] Cf. “ the sealing-day,” I. i.

X103, “ripe -red cherries”; and As 84; and Anto?iy and Cleopatra, iil xiii.
You Like it, in. v. 120, 121, “redness 125, “ My playfellow, your hand; this
in his lip A little riper.” kingly seal, And plighter of high

144. princess] Dyce, Remarks , p. hearts!”

48, says; “When Mr. Collier offered 150. in flouts] Hanmer’s reading,
[his] very unnecessary conjecture, ‘ im- which is undoubtedly correct. Cf. for
press/ he did not see that these two strong confirmation of this, 11. ii. 128,
rapturous encomiums on the hand of Helena’s “But you must ‘flout 5 my
Helena have no connexion with each insufficiency”; line 2r6 of this scene,
other. Demetrius terms it ‘princess of her “To join with men in ‘scorning’
pure white/ because its whiteness ex- your poor friend”; and line 327 of
ceeded all other whiteness; and ‘seal this scene, Hermia’s “Why will you
of bliss/ because it was to confirm the suffer her to ‘flout’ me thus?”
happiness of her accepted lover.” Steevens explains the reading of Q 1
Steevens quotes Raleigh’s Discovery of and F as meaning “to join heartily,
Guiana^ where the pine-apple is called unite in the same mind/ 5 but this seems
“ the princess of fruits.” very far-fetched and strained.

92 MIDSUMMER NIGHT S DREAM [act in.

You both are rivals, and love Hermia; r
And now both rivals to mock Helena :

A trim exploit, a manly enterprise,

To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes
With your derision ! none of noble sort
Would so offend a virgin, and extort
A poor soul's patience, all to make you sport.

Lys . You are unkind, Demetrius ; be not so ;

For you love Hermia ; this you know I know :

And here, with all good-will, with all my heart,

In Hermia's love I yield you up my part ;

And yours of Helena to me bequeath,

Whom I do love, and will do till my death.

Hel. Never did mockers waste more idle breath.

Dem . Lysander, keep thy Hermia ; I will none :

If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone.

My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourn'd ;

159. derision ! none of 1 derision ; none of 'Ft*, derision , none of Q 2; derision
None , ofQ 1. 164. here] heare Q 1. 166. of] in Collier, ed. 2. 167.

will do] will love Cambridge editors ; till] Q 1; to Q2, Ff. 17 1. to her] with
her Johnson.

157. trim] Cf. for a similar ironical times applies this word to real property,
use, 1 Henry IV. v. i. 137, “ What is as in King John 1. i. 109, sometimes
that honour? Air. A trim reckoning ! ” to personal property, as it is applied at

158. conjure ] accent on first syllable, the present day, as in As You Like ft,

as in Romeo and Juliet, 11. i. 6, I. i. 2 ; and frequently he applies it to
“ Nay, I ’ll conjure too.” words and things which do not suggest

159. sort] Here used for “ degree” the idea of such property, as in this

or “quality.” Malone. Cotgrave has ; passage, in As You Like It, v. iv, 169,
“ Gens de mise, Persons of worth, sort, and numerous others. See Rushton,
qualitie.” Shakespeare's Testamentary Language,

160. extort] usually defined as 1869, pp. 19 sqq.

“wring,” “wrest.” Allen MS. x 7 1, to her] Johnson’s emendation of
(quoted by Furness) says: “May not “with” for “to,” which is adopted by
this possibly mean, to produce by nearly all editors, is hardly necessary.

‘ torture J the * suffering 5 of a poor soul ? Wright quotes other examples of “ to ”
To take away from a poor soul her in a sense not far different from that of
patience seems to me commonplace.” the present passage, and compares

166. bequeath] Shakespeare some- Measure for Measure, I. ii. 186, “Im-

*55

160

165

170

sc. n.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 93
And fiow to Helen is it home return’d,

#

There to remain. ~ *

Lys . Helen, it is not so.

Dem . Disparage not the faith thou dost not know,

Lest, to thy peril, thou aby it dear. 1 7 S

Look where thy love comes ; yonder is thy dear.

Re-enter HERMIA.

Her . Dark night, that from the eye his function takes,

The ear more quick of apprehension makes ;

Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense,

It pays the hearing double recompence. 180

Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found ;

Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound.

But why unkindly didst thou leave me so ?

Lys. Why should he stay, whom love doth press to go ?

Her . What love could press Lysander from my side? 185

Lys , Lysander’s love, that would not let him bide,

Fair Helena, who more engilds the night

Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light.

172. is if] it is Q 2, Ff. 173. There ] There ever Pope ; Helen] Q I ;
omitted Q 2, Ff. 175. aby] Q I ; abide Q 2, Ff; dear] here Walker conj.
176. Re-enter . . .] Dyce; Enter . . . Qq, Ff. 177. Scene viil] Pope ;
Scene vii. Warburton. 182. thy] Qq, that Ff. 188. oes] orbs Grey conj.

plore her, in my voice, that she make thou shalt ‘aby 5 This fond reproach;
friends To the strict deputy 55 ; and Two thy body will I bang. 55 The Folio’s
Gentlemen , I. i. 57, “To Milan, let “abide” is, according to Skeat, “a
me hear from thee by letters. 55 mere corruption.” The two words are

175. aby] pay or atone for. Cf. 335, etymologically distinct, but seem to
infra; Julius C cesar > in. i. 94, “and have been confused,
let no man abide this deed 55 ; III. ii. 188. oes] circles. Cf. Henry V.
122, “some will dear abide it”; Prologue, 12:

Spenser, Faerie ' Queene , IV. i. 53, “ Or may we cram

“Yet thou, false squire, his fault shall Within this wooden O the very
deare aby 55 ; and Beaumont and casques

Fletcheris Knight of the Burning That did affright the air at

Pestle y ill. L (p. 425, vol. vi. ed. Agincourt? 55

1778), “Foolhardy knight, full soon Steevens quotes from John Davies’s

94 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acthi.

Why seek’st thou me ? could not this make thee know,
The hate I bare thee made mo- leave thee so? 190
Her. You speak not as you think ; it cannot be.

HeL Lo, she is one of this confederacy !

Now I perceive they have conjoin’d, all three,

To fashion this false sport in spite of me.

Injurious Hermia ! most ungrateful maid! 195

Have you conspired, have you with these contrived
To bait me with this foul derision ?

Is all the counsel that we two have shared,

The sisters 5 vows, the hours that we have spent,

When we have chid the hasty-footed time 200

For parting us, — O me ! is all forgot ?

All school-days 5 friendship, childhood innocence?

We, Hermia, like two artificial gods,

190. bare] hear F 4. 194. of me] io me Johnson. 199. sisters* vows] sisters
vowes Qq, Ff ; sister vows Capell (Upton conj.) ; sister-vows Dyce (ed. 2). 201.

O me! is all] Editor, O, is all Qq, Fi; O, and is all F 2, 3, 4 ; O, zs all now
Malone; < 3 , now is all Reed; 0 , is it all Spedding conj. ; Oh! is this all
Keightley ; < 9 , is all this Hudson. 202. school-days'] school-day Capell ; child-
hood] childhoods F 3, 4. 203. two artificial] to artificer D. Wilson conj.

Microcosmos , 1605, p. 233, “which line gives ample pause for supplying a
silver oes and spangles over-ran 55 ; and lost syllable.” See Introduction.
Halliwell cites Bacon, Essays, xxxvii. 202. school-days' friendship] Cf. a
Of Masques and Triumphs, ‘ * and oes, like reference in Julius C cesar, v. v.
or spangs, as they are of no great cost, 26, “we two went to school to- :
so are they of most glory.” Of course gether. 55

Shakespeare puns on “o 5 s” and “i’s.” 203. artificial] one of the adjectives

“I do not take it that Shakespeare which have both an active and a
meant eyes as objects of vision, but passive meaning ; but here used, as
bright shining eye-like lights. 55 Craig. Walker ( Crit . i. 96) points out, “ with

201. 0 me 1 ] The correction is amply reference to the agent; deabus arti -
justified by lines 272 and 282, infra, ficibus similes 55 — “for the worker in
The metre of the line as it stands in the art, not the work T Hudson. Walker
Qq and F I is certainly defective, and {Crit. i. 154), in his chapter on “ Ovid’s
Marshall’s explanation that “the O Influence on Shakespeare, 55 suggests
is here a prolonged exclamation, and that there is in this passage an uncon -
the hiatus in the metre is filled by the scious allusion to the story of Arachne
emotion of the actress, 55 is as weak as and Minerva, which had impressed
Furness’s idea that “ the break in the Shakespeare in reading.

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 95

Have with our neelds created both one flower,

Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion, * 205
Both warbling of one song, both in one key ;

As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds,

Had been incorporate. So we grew together,

Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,

But yet a union in partition ; 210

Two lovely berries moulded on one stem :

So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart ;

Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,

204. Have . . . both] Created with our needles both Pope ; neelds'] Rann,
Malone (1790), Steevens (1793). 2Ia y et \ omitted F 3, 4 ; a] F 1, 2, 3 ; an
Qq, F4. 21 1. lovely] loving CoVCiox (ed. 2). 212. So] OHanmer. 213.

first 'like] Theobald (Folkes conj.) ; first life Qq, F I ; first life , F 2, 3, 4.

204. neelds] so Shakespeare most
probably wrote, instead of the
“needles” of the Folio. But the
word seems to have been pronounced
by him as a monos}dlable or a di-
syllable according to metric necessity.
See, e.g., for the monosyllable, Pericles ,
iv. Gower 23 ; v. Gower 5 (if these
lines are indeed Shakespeare’s ) ; Cym-
beline, I. i. 168; Lucrece , 819; King
John , v. ii. 157 ; Richard If. v. v.
17. Furness notes the disyllabic pro-
nunciation in Lucrece, 317, “Lucretia’s
glove, wherein her needle sticks.”

21 1. lovely] Dyce thinks this may be
equivalent to “loving,” which latter is
Collier’s emendation. Cf. Taming of
the Shrew , III. ii. 1 25, “And seal the
title with a lovely kiss”; Peele’s
Arraignment of Paris , p. 358, ed.
Dyce, 1861, “and I will give thee
many a 4 lovely ’ kiss ” ; and Greene’s
James IV. p. 189,. ed. Dyce, 1861 :

“A father, brother, and a vowed
friend

Link all these c lovely ’ styles, good
king, in one.”

213. Two of the first] Douce, i. 194,
says : “ It may be doubted whether this
passage has been rightly explained, and
whether the commentators have not

given Shakespeare credit for more skill
in heraldry than he really possessed, or
at least than he intended to exhibit on
the present occasion. Helena says,
We had two seeming bodies, but only
one heart. She then exemplifies her
position by a simile — We had two of the
first , i.e. bodies , like the double coats
in heraldry that belong to man and
wife as one person , but which, like our
single heart , have but one crest P
Staunton goes somewhat further. He
says : “ The plain lieraldical allusion
is to the simple impalements of two
armorial ensigns, as they are marshalled
side by side to represent a marriage ;
and the expression, Two of the first, is
to that particular form of dividing the
shield being the first in order of the nine
ordinary partitions of the Escutcheon .
These principles were familiarly under-
stood in the time of Shakespeare by all
the readers of the many very popular
lieraldical works of the period, and an
extract from one of these will probably
render the meaning of the passage clear.
In The Accedence of Armorie, published
by Gerard Leigh in 1597, he says :
‘Now will I declare to you of ix
sundrie Partitions - the First whereof
is a partition from the highest part of

96 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actiu.

Due but to one, and crowned with one crest.

And will you rend our ancient dove asunder, 215
To join with men in scorning your poor friend ?

It is not friendly, ’tis not maidenly :

Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it ;

Though I alone do feel the injury.

Her \ I am amazed at your passionate words : 220

I scorn you not ; it seems that you scorn me.

HeL Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn,

To follow me, and praise my eyes and face?

* And made your other love, Demetrius,

Who even but now did spurn me with his foot, 225
To call me goddess, nymph, divine, and rare,

Precious, celestial ? Wherefore speaks he this
To her he hates? and wherefore doth Lysander
Deny your love, so rich within his soul,

And tender me, forsooth, affection; 230

But by your setting on, by your consent ?

What though I be not so in grace as you,

So hung upon with love, so fortunate ;

But miserable most, to love unloved ?

215. rend} Rowe ; rent Qq, Ff. 21 S. for it} for V Walker conj. 220.

I am amazed at your passionate words} Ff, I am amazed at your words Qq.

the Escocheon to the lowest. And of the husband. In Shakespeare’s day,
though it must be blazed so y yet is it a the only pleas for bearing two crests
joining together. It is also a marriage, were ancient usage, or a special grant,
that is to say, two cotes ; the man’s on The modem practice of introducing a
the right side, and the woman’s on the second crest by an heiress has been
left : as it might be said that Argent most improperly adopted from the
had married with Gules.’ In different German heraldical system ; for it should
words, this is nothing else than an be remembered, that as a female cannot
amplification of Helena’s own expres- wear a helmet, so neither can she bear
sion, ‘seeming parted ; But yet a union a crest.”

in partition.’ The shield bearing the 215. rend] There seems to be no
arms of two married persons would of sound reason for printing the old form
course be surmounted by one crest “ rent.”
only, as the text properly remarks, that

SC. II.] MIDSJJMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 97

This you should pity, rather than despise. 235

Her . I understand not what you mean by this. •

Hel. Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks,

Make mouths upon me when I turn my back ;

Wink at each other; hold the sweet jest up:

This sport, well carried, shall be chronicled. 240
If you have any pity, grace, or manners,

You would not make me such an argument
But, fare ye well : *tis partly my own fault ;

Which death, or absence, soon shall remedy.

Lys . Stay, gentle Helena; hear my excuse; t 245

My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena!

Hel. O excellent !

Her. Sweet, do not scorn her so.

Dem. If she cannot entreat, I can compel.

Lys . Thou canst compel no more than she entreat :

Thy threats have no more strength than her weak
prayers. — ' 250

Helen, I love thee; by my life, I do;

I swear by that which I will lose for thee,

To prove him false that says I love thee not.

Dem. I say I love thee more than he can do.

237. Ay, do, persever] I doe. Perseuer Q I ; I, do, perseuer Q 2, Ff ; Ay, do,
persevere Rowe. 238. Make mouths ] Make mows Steevens (1793). 241.

have] had Collier (ed. 2). 243. my] Q 1 ; mine Q 2, Ff. 246. my life ]

Qq, F I ; omitted F 2, 3, 4. 250. prayers] Theobald ; praise Qq, Ff ; prays

Capell (Theobald conj.). 252. lose] loose Q 1.

237. persever] Shakespeare has iv. iv. 50, “ Make mouths at the
numerous examples of words with the invisible event.”

accent nearer the beginning than in 239. hold the sweet jest up] Cf.
modern usage ; and as to this word, cf. Merry Wives , v. v. 109, “I pray you.
All's Well , m. vii. 37 ; King John , come, hold up the jest no higher ” ; and
II. i. 421 ; and Hamlet , 1. ii. 92. Much Ado, 11. iii. r26, “He hath ta’en

238. mouths] a common corruption the infection ; hold it up.”
of “mows,” grimaces. Cf. Hapilet,

7 .

98 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actio.

Lys. If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too* 255

Dent Quick, come ! • »

Her . Lysander, whereto tends all this ?

Lys, Away, you Ethiope !

Her. No, no, he 11 kill thee !

Dem . Seem to break loose ; take on, as you would follow ;

But yet come not : you are a tame man, go !

Lys . Hang off, thou cat, thou burr ! vile thing, let loose ; 260

255. too] to Qq. 257. Ethiope] Ethiope you Heath conj. 257, 258. Her.

No, no ! he 'll kill thee ! Dem. Seem to break loose ;] Editor ; No, no : heele Seeme
to breake loose Q 1 ; No, no, hee'l seeme to breake loose [one line] Q 2 ; No, no ,
Sir, seem to breake loose [one line] Ff; No, no; he'll not come. — Seem to break
loose Capell ; No, ito ; he 'll — sir, Seem to break loose Malone ; No, no ; sir: — he
will Seem to break loose (Steevens (1793) > No, no, sir ; you Seem to break loose Dyce,
ed. 2 (Lettsom conj.) ; No! no, sir ; thou' It Seem to break loose Kinnear ; No,
no ; he'll but See?n to break loose Nicholson conj. ; No, no, sir: — do; Seem to
break loose Hudson. 260. off] o/Q 1 ; burr] bur Qq, Fi; bud F 2, 3, 4.

257. Ethiope l] Hermia was evidently Lysander. It is clear that one syllable
a brunette, like Rosaline in Love's at least, if not a foot, has fallen out of
Labour's Lost. See IV. iii. 268 of that line 257, and the word “ kill” seems to
play (in which the king compares her to me far the most probable, and for two
an Ethiope), “And Ethiopes of their reasons chiefly: (i) it is nearer than
sweet complexion crack,” i.e. boast. any other word to the sound of “ he ’ll,”

257, 258. No, no! . . . loose] This if the compositor of Q 1 worked from
obscure and corrupt passage has given dictation, and, if he worked from a
rise to much comment and conjecture. MS., to the trace of its letters; in
The Cambridge editors are of opinion, either case being inadvertently omitted ;
rightly I think, that some words have and (2), and this is the weightier reason,
fallen out of the text ; and the text, as as an exclamation from Hermia it is the
above arranged, seems the simplest and natural result of the antecedent passage
most probable solution of the difficulty, between her and Demetrius, namely,
Following on the challenge of Ly- lines 43-70 of this very scene, in which
sander in line 255 and the quick retort Hermia believes that her lover has been
of Demetrius, we have Hermia’s killed by Demetrius, who had already
wondering question, “Whereto tends avowed to her his intention of killing
all this?” (accompanied by the act of Lysander. See, especially, lines 47
clinging to Lysander, so as to prevent (slain), 56 (murdered), 66 (slain), and
the meeting of the rivals). Next comes particularly 70 (kill’d). If the speech
Lysander’s rough reply, “Away, you of Nermm was originally, as I believe,
Ethiope !” and his unsuccessful attempt by the mistake of the printer of Q I
to thrust her aside. The words, “No, wrongly assigned to Demetrius, then
no! he’ll [kill thee]” constitute the “Sir” of the Folio would appear
Hermia’s very natural and probable to be merely a rude and unsuccessful
reply to her repulse by Lysander. After attempt to account for and remedy a
Hernia’s intervention Demetrius re- mistake the origin of which was mis-
sumes his interrupted taunt against understood.

SC. II. j MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 99

Or I will shake thee from me, like a serpent.

Her . Why are you grown so rude ? what change is tins,
Sweet love?

Lys, Thy love? out, tawny Tartar, out!

Out, loathed medicine ! hated potion, hence !

Her . Do you not jest ?

HeL Yes, sooth; and so do you. 265

Lys . Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.

Dem, I would I had your bond ; for I perceive

A weak bond holds you ; I 'll not trust your word.

Lys . What ? should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead ?

Although I hate her, I 'll not harm her so. 270

Her . What, can you do me greater harm than hate ?

Hate me I wherefore? O me ! what means my love?

264. hated] Pope, 6 hated Qq, 0 hated Ff ; potion] Q I ; poison Q 2, Ff.
271. What . . . harm] What greater har?n can you do me Hanmer ; hate ] harm
F 4. 272. means] Collier (ed. 2, 3), Singer (ed. 2), Keightley, Marshall.

263. tawny] another reference to he hates her. Is it likely, under such
Hermia’s brown complexion. circumstances, that she would employ

268. weak bond] Hermia’s arms still such a colloquial phrase as ‘What

clinging round Lysander. news’? Were she less in earnest, less

269. What ?] the interrogative seems deeply wounded, and playing the part

the preferable punctuation. of an indignant coquette, whose philan-

272. wherefore?] accented as in derings had been discovered, she might
Romeo and Juliet , n. ii. 62, “tell say, £ What new-fangled notion is this
me, and wherefore ? ” of your hating me?’ But she is too

272. means] I have no hesitation in much in earnest to play with words,
adopting what Marshall calls “ the The exclamation * oh me ! ’ is not one
very sensible emendation of the Collier of skittish and affected suspense ; it is
MS.” for the “newes” of the Qq, Ff. a cry of real mental anguish; and I
Marshall {Irving Shakespeare , vol. ii, cannot think anyone with a due sense
380) says: “I cannot find a single of dramatic fitness would admit the
instance in which it” [i.e. the phrase reading ‘What news?’ in the sense
“What news?” or “What news with accepted by all the commentators.”
you”] “is not addressed to some Strong confirmation of the change to
person who has only just appeared on “means” is to be found in line 236,
the scene, and who may be expected ante, where Hermia uses the exact
by the speaker to have some message word in reference to Helena’s accusation
or matter of importance to communicate, of Hermia’s “setting Lysander to
. . . But Hermia in this speech is follow” her. Grant White (ed. 1)
under the influence of strong emotion, considers “that as this is Hermia’s
She is shocked at Lysander saying that first interview" with her lover since

100 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [acthi.

Am not I Hermia? Are not you Lysancier?

"I am as fair now as I -was erewhile.

Since night you loved me; yet since night you left
me: 275

Why, then you left me, — O, the gods forbid ! —

In earnest, shall I say ?

Lys. Ay, by my life;

And never did desire to see thee more.

Therefore, be out of hope, of question, doubt,

Be certain, nothing truer; *tis no jest, 280

That I do hate thee, and love Helena.

Her. O me, you juggler ! you canker-blossom !

You thief of love ! what, have you come by night
And stoFn my love’s heart from him ?

Hel. Fine, V faith !

Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, 285

No touch of bashfulness ? What, will you tear
Impatient answers from my gentle tongue ?

Fie, fie ! you counterfeit, you puppet you !

Her. Puppet ! why so ? Ay, that way goes the game.

Now I perceive that she hath made compare 290

279. doubt] Pope; of doubt Qq, Ff. 282. juggler ! you] jugler, Ok you
Pope; jugler, you! you Capell. 289. why so f] Qq, Ff ; why , so: Theobald.

Puck’s application of the flower to his pronounced as a trisyllable. It was
eyes, she may well express surprise at clearly so in Chaucer’s time. See his
the novelty of his declaration that he House of Fame fm. 169:
hates her.” But surely this expression “ Ther saugh I pley

is brought out much more strongly Iugelours magicians and tregetours,”
by “means.” Furness, more suo , 282. canker-blossom ] Capell is un«

“doggedly shuts his eyes to the sub- doubtedly right in considering the first
stitution.” word of this compound to be a verb,

279. doubt ] In support of Pope’s i.e. “you who canker the blossom,”
omission of “ of, ” Lettsom ( ap . Dyce) meaning that Helena has stealthily
aptly cites II. i. 238, “Ay, in the destroyed the blossom of Lysanderis
temple, in the town, the field.” affection for herself. See n. ii. 4,

282 1 juggler l] This word must be ante .

sc.il] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 101

Between our statures, she hath urged her height ;

And with her personage, her tall personage,

Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him. —
And are you grown so high in his esteem,

Because I am so dwarfish and so low? 295

How low am I, thou painted maypole ? speak ;

How low am I ? I am not yet so low,

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

HeL I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,

Let her not hurt me: I was never curst; 300

I have no gift at all in shrewishness ;

I am a right maid for my cowardice ;

Let her not strike me. You, perhaps, may think,
Because she is something lower than myself,

That I can match her.

Her . Lower ! hark, again. 305

HeL Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me.

292. tall personage] tall parsonage Q 2. 299. gentlemen] gentleman Q 1.

304. she is] Qq, F i, 2, 3 ; she’s F 4.

292. And ... personage] There is stay in your curst company ” ; line 439,
no particular difficulty in the scansion “ Here she comes, curst and sad ” ;
of this line ; nor is there any reason for and numerous other passages in the
special emphasis on the word <£ tall.” plays, particularly Taming of the
296. painted maypole] The epithet Shrew. See also line 323, post,
may refer to the pink and white com- “ keen and shrewd.” Craig quotes
plexion of Helena. Painted maypoles from North’s Plutarch , ed. 2, 1595,
were of great antiquity. Steevens p. 1087 (Aratus) : “he reported that
quotes Stubbes’s Anatomie of Abuses, the place was not unscaleable, but very
1583 : “These Oxen drawe home this hard to come to it, because of certaine
May-pole (this stinking Ydol, rather), little curst curres a gardiner kept hard
which is couered all ouer with floures and by the wall, which would never leave
hearbs, bound round about with strings barking.”

from the top to the bottome, and some- 302. right] true, down-right. Cf.
time painted with variable colours.” As You Like It, in. ri. 103, “It is
300. curst] shrewish, cross-grained, the right butter- women’s rank to
ill-tempered. Cotgrave : “ Meschant. market”; IV. iii. 88, where the true
Wicked, impious, vngracious . •. . also reading is “like a right forester” ; and
curst, mischievous, harsh, froward.” Antony and Cleopatra, IV. xii. 28,
Cf. line 341 of this scene, “ Nor longer “like a right gipsy.”

102 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actiu.

I evermore did love you, Hermia, *

Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong’d you ;

Save that, in love unto Demetrius,

I told him of your stealth unto this wood : 310

He follow’d you ; for love, I follow’d him.

But he hath chid me hence ; and threaten’d me
To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too :

And now, so you will let me quiet go,

To Athens will I bear my folly back, 315

And follow you no further : let me go :

You see how simple and how fond I am.

Her . Why, get you gone : who is ’t that hinders you ?

HeL A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.

Her . What, with Lysander?

HeL With Demetrius. 320

Lys . Be not afraid : she shall not harm thee, Helena.

Dent. No, Sir; she shall not, though you take her part.

HeL O, when she ’s angry, she is keen and shrewd :

She was a vixen when she went to school ;

And, though she be but little, she is fierce. 325

Her . Little again ? nothing but low and little !

Why will you suffer her to flout me thus ?

Let me come to her.

Lys . Get you gone, you dwarf ;

You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made ;

311 .follow'd] Rowe \ followed Qq, Ff. 313. too] to Qq. 320. Hel.] Her.
F 1, 2, 321. shall] will F 4 ; Helena ] Helen Dyce <ed. 2), (Walker conj. ).

323. she's] she is Q 1. 329. You minimus] You minion you Theobald (ed. 2).

314. so] See 1. i. 39. Julius Ceesar , I. ii. 300, “He was

31^ fond] foolish, as in many quick mettle when he went to school/’
passages in Shakespeare. 329. minimus ] “ a being of the least

321. Helena]. See ij. ii. 104. size/’ Johnson. Cf» Milton, Paradise

324. when she went to school] Cf. Lost, vii. 4S2, “minims of nature/*

SC. II.] MID SyMMER-N IGHT’S DREAM 103

You bead, you acorn.

Dem. m You are too officious # 330

In her behalf, that scorns your services.

Let her alone ; speak not of Helena ;

Take not her part : for if thou dost intend
Never so little show of love to her,

Thou shalt aby it.

Lys. Now she holds me not; 335

Now follow, if thou dar'st, to try whose right,

Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.

Dem. Follow ? nay, I 'll go with thee, cheek by jole.

[. Exeunt Lys. and Dem .

Her . You, mistress, ail this coil is 'long of you :

335 * &by\ Q I, abie Q2, abide Ff. 337. Of] Or Theobald; Of .. . mine ]
Of mine or thine Malone conj. [Exit] Q 2. 338. [Exeunt . . .] Exe. . . .

Pope ; Exit . . . Ff ; omitted Qq. 339. Hong ] Capell ; long Qq, Ff.

“It came into use probably from the gling and many-jointed, hence its name
musical term ‘minim,’ which in the of knot-grass. There, may be another
very old notation was the shortest note, explanation of hindering than that
though now one of the longest.” Nares. given by Steevens. Johnstone tells us
329. kindering knot-grass] “ It that in the North, being difficult to cut
appears,” says Steevens, “that knot- in the harvest-time, or to pull in the
grass was anciently supposed to pre- process of weeding, it has obtained the
vent the growth of any animal or soubriquet of the Deil’s-lingels. From
child,” And he quotes Beaumont and this it may well be called ‘hindering/
Fletcher’s Knight of the Burning just as the Ononis , from the same
Pestle (11. ii. 157, Dyce) : “Should habit of catching the plough and
they put him into a straight pair of harrow, has obtained the prettier name
gaskins, ’twcre worse than knot-grass ; of Rest-harrow.”
he would never grow after it ” ; and 333. intend] here, probably, to set
their Coxcomb (II. ii. 150, Dyce): forth, exhibit; or, to pretend, as in
“We want a boy extremely for this Muck Ado , 11. ii. 35, “Intend a kind
function, Kept under for a year with of zeal, ” and other passages,
milk and knot-grass.” Beisly, Shak- 335. aby] See line 175, supra,

spends Garden (1864), 53, seems to be 337. Of] See, for a similar con-

mistaken in thinking that “ the allusion struction, The Tempest , 11. i. 27,
here made is to the ‘ character ’ of the ‘ ‘ Which, of he or Adrian, for a good
plant as hindering the growth of useful wager, first begins to crow ? ’’

plants ; as it spreads in thick masses, 339. coil] stir, tunjult, turmoil, as in

and is very tough and deep-rooted.” numerous other passages of Shakespeare.
Ellacombe, Plant Lore of Shakespeare 339. ’long] owing to you, as in
(1878), 101, says: “The Polygonum Cymbelme* V. v. 271, “and ’long of
aviculare } a British weed, low strag- her it was.”

104 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actxxi.

Nay, go not back. *■

Hel * I yrill not thrust you, I, 340

Nor longer stay in your curst company.

Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray;

My legs are longer though, to run away. [Exit

Her. I am amazed, and know not what to say. [Exit.

Obe . This is thy negligence: still thou mistak’st, 345

Or else committ’st thy knaveries wilfully.

Puck. Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook.

Did not you tell me I should know the man .

By the Athenian garments he had on ?

And so far blameless proves my enterprise, 350

That I have 'nointed an Athenian's eyes :

And so far am I glad it so did sort,

As this their jangling I esteem a sport
Obe. Thou see'st these lovers seek a place to fight :

Hie therefore, Robin, overcast the night; 355

The starry welkin cover thou anon
With drooping fog, as black as Acheron ;

And lead these testy rivals so astray,

As one come not within another's way.

340. you, I } ] you Rowe (ed. 1). 343. [Exit] Capell; omitted Qq, Ff;

Exeunt Rowe; Exeunt Herm. pursuing Helena Theobald. 344. Her. /. . .
say] omitted Ff. [Exit] Capell ; Exeunt Qq ; Exit pursuing Helena Malone.

345. Scene ix.] Pope ; Scene vni. Warburton. Enter Oberon and Puck Ff.

346. wilfully ] Qq, willingly Ff. 349. had] Q 1 ; hath Q 2, Ff. 351.
’■minted] minted Qq, Ff. 352. so did ] did so Rowe. 357. fog] fogs Theo-
bald (ed. 2).

344.] This line was accidentally Andronicus , iv. iii. 44, “111 dive
omitted in Ff, and hence no exit is into the burning lake below, And pull
provided for Hermia or Helena. her out of Acheron by the heels’’ (if

353. As] i.e. since, because. this is in fact Shakespeare’s author-

357. Acheron] In classical myth- ship); and Macbeth , in. v. 15, “at
ology, the infernal river, perhaps used the pit of Acheron.” But the com-
loosely by Shakespeare and other early parison Shakespeare here makes is in
poets for river or lake. See Titus respect of “blackness.”

SC. II.] M ID S¥ MMER-N I GHTS DREAM 105

Like tc'Lysander sometime frame thy tongue, 360
Then stir Demetrius up with bitter wrong ; *

And sometime rail thou like Demetrius ;

And from each other look thou lead them thus,

Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep
* With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep : 365

Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye ;

Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,

To take from thence all error, with his might,

And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight
When they next wake, ail this derision 370

Shall seem a dream, and fruitless vision ;

And back to Athens shall the lovers wend,

With league whose date till death shall never
end.

Whiles I in this affair do thee employ,

I'll to my queen, and beg her Indian boy; 375

And then I will her charmed eye release
From monster's view, and all things shall be peace.
Puck . My fairy lord, this must be done with haste ;

For night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast,

And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger; 380

364. death-counterfeiting] (with comma) Q 2, F i ; death-counterfaiting , Q i.
368. his] its Rowe. 374. employ} imploy Q 1, F 4 ; apply *Q 2 ; imply
F I, 2, 3. 379. nights swift] nights swift Q 1 ; night swift Q 2 ; night-swift

F 1; nigkts-swift F 2, 3, 4.

367. virtuous] powerful, efficacious. <e The task of drawing the chariot of the
So, in the legal language of convey- night was assigned to dragons on account
ancing even at the present day, under of their supposed watchfulness.” Malone
and by virtue of every power, etc.” refers to Golding’s Ovid's Metamor-
379. dragons] Gf. Trozlus and Ores- phosis, 1 1 And brought asleep the
sida y v. viii. 17, 4 4 The dragon wing of dragon fell, whose eyes were never
night o’erspreads the earth and Cym- shet.” For “cut the clouds,” cf.
beUne y II. ii. 48, “Swift, swift, you Tempest , iv. i. 93, of Venus “cutting
dragons of the night.” Steevens says : the clouds towards Paphos.”

106 ' MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actih.

At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and
r there, r *

Troop home to churchyards : damned spirits all,

That in cross-ways and floods have burial,

Already to their wormy beds are gone ;

For fear lest day should look their shames upon, 385
They wilfully themselves exile from light,

And must for aye consort with black-brow’d night.
Ode. But we are spirits of another sort :

I with the morning’s love have oft made sport :

And, like a forester, the groves may tread, 390

Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red,

386. themselves exile'] exile themselves F 3, 4 ; exil’d themselves Theobald
conj. [beginning Oberon’s speech here]. 387. black-brow 3 d] black browed Q 1.
389. morning’s love] Qq, F I ; morning love F 2, 3, 4; mornmg-love Rowe
(ed. 1 ) ; morning- light Rowe (ed. 2}.

382, 383. damned spirits . . .
burial] Steevens says: “The ghosts
of self-murderers, who are buried in
cross-roads, and of those who, being
drowned, were condemned (according
to the opinion of the ancients) to
wander for a hundred years, as the
rites of sepulture had never been
regularly bestowed on their bodies.”
That the waters were sometimes the
place of residence for “ damned spirits”
we learn from the ancient bl. 1. [black
letter] romance of Syr Eglamoure of
Artoys (no date): “Let some preest
a gospel saye, For doute of fendes in
the flode.”

386. ] It was distinctly ingenious of
Theobald to propose to begin Oberon’s
speech here.

387. black-brow' d] Cf. King John ,
V. vi. 17, “Here walk I in the black
brow of night ” ; and Romeo and Juliet ,
ill. ii. 20, “Come, loving, black-
brow^ night.”

389. the morning’s love] It is highly
probable that Cephaius, the lover of
Aurora (Milton’s “Attic boy,” II

Penseroso 124), is here intended,
especially having regard to Bottom’s
reference to “Shafalus” in v. i. 198.
This shows at least that the myth was
in Shakespeare’s mind. So in The
Phoenix Nest , 1593 :

“ Aurora now began to rise againe
From watrie couch and from old
Tithon’s side,

In hope to kisse upon Acteian
plaine

Yong Cephaius.”

Capell suggests that the expression
may mean the star Phosphorus ;
Steevens that it is Tithonus, the
husband of Aurora. Halliwell aptly
remarks: “Oberon merely means to
say metaphorically that he has sported
with Aurora, the morning’s love, the
first blush of morning ; and that he is
not, like a ghost, compelled to vanish
at the dawn of day.”

391. easier gate] Milton’s JO Allegro,
59, is well known :

“Right against the eastern gate,
Where the great Sun begins his
state.”

sc. II.] MIDSUMMER NIGHT S DREAM 107

Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams,

Turns into yellow *gold his^salt-green streams. »

But, notwithstanding, haste ; make no delay :

We may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit. 395
Pitch Up and down, up and down,

I will lead them up and down :

I am fear’d in field and town ;

Goblin, lead them up and down.

Here comes one. 400

Re-enter LYSANDER.

Lys . Where art thou, proud Demetrius ? speak thou now.
Puck . Here, villain ; drawn and ready. Where art thou ?
Lys . I will be with thee straight.

Puck . Follow me, then,

To plainer ground. [Exit Lys . as following the voice .

Re-enter DEMETRIUS.

Deni . Lysander ! speak again.

Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled? 405

392. Neptune with . . . beams] Qq, Ff; Neptune , with . . . beams. Walker
conj. ; fair blessed ] far-blessing Hanmer (Warburton). 395. [Exit] Exit
Oberon Rowe ; omitted Qq, Ff. 396-399. Up . . . down] as in Pope [two
lines Q I ; prose Q 2, Ff]. 396. down,] down then , Hanmer. 399. Goblin
. . . down] Oberon, Collier conj. (omitting Exit in 395). 4 00, 404. Re-enter
. . .] Capell ; Enter . . . Qq, Ff. 401. Where . . . now] Qq [two lines Ff].
403, 404. Follow . . . ground ] as in Theobald [one line Qq, Ff], 404.

[Exit . . . voice] Exit Lys. . . . voice, which seems to go off Capell; Lys.
goes out, as following Dem. Theobald ; omitted Qq, Ff.

392.] The punctuation’ of Walker before “Goblin,” unless “will” is
{Crit. iii. 49) is noteworthy. Cf. Sonnets, understood after it. There is much,
xxxiii., “Gilding pale streams wjjh however, to be said for Staunton’s idea
heavenly alchemy.” that the line is none other than a self-

399.] This line might belong to conferred nickname on Robin Good-
Oberon if he remains on the stage, fellow, to indicate his will-o’-the-wisp
His exit , if at line 395, is not propensities, and that the line should be
marked in the Qq, Ff. If Puck is the read, “ Goblin- lead- them-up-and-down.”
speaker, possibly “I” is understood 402. drawn] i.e. with sword drawn.

108 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [act in.

Speak ! In some bush ? Where dost thou hide thy
head ? r r

Puck . Thou coward, art thou bragging to the stars,

Telling the bushes that thou look’st for wars,

And wilt not come ? Come, recreant ; come, thou child ;

I ’ll whip thee with a rod : he is defiled 410

That draws a sword on thee.

Dem. Yea; art thou there?

Puck . Follow my voice ; we ’ll try no manhood here.

[. Exeunt .

Re-enter LYSANDER.

Lys. He goes before me, and still dares me on ;

When I come where he calls, then he is gone.

The villain is much lighter heel’d than 1 : 415

I follow’d fast, but faster he did fly ;

That fallen am I in dark uneven way,

And here will rest me. Come, thou gentle day !

[Lies down .

For if but once thou shew me thy grey light,

I ’ll find Demetrius, and revenge this spite. 420

[Sleeps.

Re-enter PUCK and DEMETRIUS.

Puck . Ho, ho ! ho, ho ! Coward, why com’st thou not ?

406. Speak! In some bush Capell; Speake in some busk. Qq ; Speake in
some bush: Ff. 407. bragging] beggingF 3, 4. 412. [Exeunt] Qq,ExitFf.

Re-enter . . .] Capell; Ly sander comes back Theobald ; omitted Qq, Ff.
414. calls, then he zj] calles, then he is Qi ; calles, then he’s Q 2; cals, then he’s
F I ; cals me, then he 5 s F 2, 3, 4. 416. follow’d] Rowe; followed Qq, Ff;

[Shifting places] Ff. 418. [Lies down] lye down Ff; omitted Qq. 420.
[Sleeps] Capell. Re-enter . . .] Capell; Enter Robin Ff; Robin and Deme-
trius Q I. 421. Ho , . . . hot] Capell; why] why then Hanmer.

421. Ho, ho! ho, ho /] the established {Remarks, 1783), gives numerous in-
burden to the old songs which describe stances of the devil, who was generally
the frolics of Robin Good-fellow, one of the leading characters in the
Ritson, in his note on this passage old miracle plays and moralities, ex-

f

SC. II.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 109

Dem. Abide me, if thou dar’st ; for well I wot,

Thou runn’st befose me, shifting every place, •

And dar’st not stand, nor look me in the face.

Where art thou now ?

Puck Come hither; I am here. 425

Dem, Nay, then, thou mock’st me. Thou shalt buy this
dear,

If ever I thy face by daylight see :

Now, go thy way. Faintness constraineth me
To measure out my length on this cold bed.

By day’s approach look to be visited. 430

[Lies down and sleeps .

Re-enter HELENA.

Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night,

Abate thy hours ! shine, comforts, from the east ;
That I may back to Athens, by daylight,

From these that my poor company detest :

425. now] Q I ; omitted Q 2, Ff. 426. shalt] shat Q I ; buy] Qq, Ff ; by
Collier (Johnson conj.). 429. [Lies down] Capell. 430. [Lies . . .]
Malone; Lyes down Rowe ; Sleeps Capell. Re-enter . . .] Dyce ; Enter . . .
Qq, Ff; Enter Helena and throws herself down Capell. 431. Scene x]
Pope. 432. shine , comforts , ] Theobald ; shine comforts , Q 1 ; shine comforts
Q2,Ff.

pressing his fiendish laughter in this true ; and bought his climbing very
form ; e,g. in Gammer Gurtcnts Needle, dear.’ Besides the two words are
‘ ‘But Diccon, Diccon, did not the etymologically connected. ” Wright,
devil cry ho, ho, ho ? ” 429. measure . . , length ] Cf. King

426. buy this dear] “Johnson con- Lear , I. iv. 99, “If you will measure
jectured ‘by ’ for ‘ aby,’ as in lines 175, your lubber’s length again.”

335, but the phrase, if a corruption, 432. shine, comforts,] Theobald’s
was so well established in Shakespeare’s punctuation seems preferable, i.e.
time as to make a change unnecessary, making “comforts” a vocative, like
Compare, for instance, 1 Henry IK “night.”

v. iii. 7 ; 434. detest] Walker (Crit. ii. 311}

‘The Lord of Stafford dear to day says: “In writers of [Shakespeare’s]
hath bought age 4 detest * is used in the sense

Thy likeness ’ ; which, as then, it still retained from its

and 2 Henry VI. XI. L 100, ‘Too ■ original ‘ detestari/ being indicative

110 MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM [Acrm.

And sleep, that sometimes shuts qip sorrow's
r eye, * r 435

Steal me a while from mine own company,

[Lies down and sleeps .

Puck . Yet but three ? Come one more ;

Two of both kinds makes up four.

Here she comes, curst and sad :

Cupid is a knavish lad, 440

Thus to make poor females mad.

Re-enter HERMIA.

Her . Never so weary, never so in woe ;

Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briers ;

I can no further crawl, no further go ;

My legs can keep no pace with my desires. 445
Here will I rest me till the break of day.

Heavens shield Lysander, if they mean a fray !

[ Lies down and sleeps .

Puck . On the ground,

Sleep sound :

435. sometimes ] Qq, F 3, 4; sometime F I, 2. 436. [Lies . . .] Dyce;

Sleepe Qq, Ff ; Sleeps Rowe. 437. three?'} three here? Hanmer ; Come one}
Qq, Ff ; Come but one Edicor conj. 438. makes} Qq, F 1, 2, 4 ; make F 3.
439. comes} someth Hanmer, Editor conj. 441. Re-enter . . .] Dyce ; Enter
H. F 3, 4 ; Enter H. [after 440] F 1, 2. 446. me} me, [lies down] CapelL
447. Heavens} Heaven Anon. conj. [Lies . . .] Dyce; Lyes down Rowe;
omitted Qq, Ff. 448. [To Lysander, whose Eyes he anoints] CapelL 448-
457, On . . . eye} as in Warburton ; four lines in Qq, Ff. 449. Sleep} Sleep
thou Hanmer,

of something spoken, not of an affection in the description of torments and
of the mind; compare 4 attest,* ‘pro- pains . . . doth detest the offence of
test,* which still retain their etymo- facility.” [“ facilitie ” in the edition of
logical meaning. ** Bacon, Advance- 1605 is corrected to u futilitie ” in the
went of Learning, Book ii. [xxiii. 47, Errata, and the correction is adopted
p. 248, ed. Aldis Wright], speaking of in edd. 1629, 1633. See Wright’s
secrecy in matters of government, note.]

“Again, the wisdom of antiquity . . .

sc. ii- ] MIDSJJMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 111

I’ll apply 450

To your eye,

Gentle lover, remedy.

[ Squeezing the juice on Ly sander's eye.
When thou wakest,

Thou takest

True delight 455

In the sight

Of thy former lady’s eye :

And the country proverb known,

That every man should take his own,

In your waking shall be shown : 460

Jack shall have Jill ;

Nought shall go ill ;

The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be
well. [Exit.

451. To your eye ] Rowe ; your eye Qq, Ff. 452. [Squeezing . . .] Rowe.
453. wakest] wakest next Hanmer. 454. Thou] Then thou Seymour conj. ;
See thou Collier (ed. 2) (Tyrwhitt conj.); takest] Qq, F I, 4; ralist F 2, 3.
461, 462. Jack . . . ill] as in Johnson [one line Qq, Ff], 463. well] still
Steevens conj. [They sleepe all the Act] Ff.

450. apply to] The Qq, Ff omit “to,” Skelton’s Magnyfycence (Dyce’s ed.,
but in almost every other passage in i. 234) and elsewhere. In Taming of
which the word occurs it is used with the Shrew , iv. i. 51, there is a play on
4 4 to.” It is used with “in” in As the words jacks and j ills, which there
You Like It , 11. iii. 48, “ I never did signify two drinking measures, as well
apply Hot and rebellious liquors 4 in * as men-servants and maid-servants,
my blood.” 463. The man ... be well] prob-

461. Jack shall have Jill] Cf. Love's ably another proverbial expression.
Labour's Lost , v. ii. 884 : Wright compares Fletcher’s Chances ,

“Our wooing doth not end like an III. iv. :

old play; “Fred. How now? How goes it?

Jack hath not Jill.” John. Why, the man has his mare

Steevens says the proverb is to be again, and all’s well, Frederic.”

found in Hey wood’s Epigrammes upon And see Ray’s English Proverbs , 44 All
Trover bes, 1567: is well, and the man hath his mare

4 4 All shalbe well, Iacke shall haue again.” The stage-direction of the
Gill : Folio seems to imply that the sleepers

Nay, nay, Gill is wedded to Wyll.” continue to sleep up to line 135 of
And Staunton cites instances from Act IV. sc. i.

112. MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DJtEAM [activ.

ACT IV,

SCENE I. — The Same.

Lysander , Demetrius , Helena , and H*rmia, lying
asleep .

Titania 0m/ Bottom ; Peaseblossom, Cobweb,
Mote, Mustard-seed, Fairies attending ;

OBER 0 N behind unseen .

Tita . Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed,

While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,

And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head,

And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot. Where *s Peaseblossom ? 5

Peas . Ready.

Bot . Scratch my head, Peaseblossom. Where ’s Moun-
sieur Cobweb?

Cob . Ready.

Ad IV. Scene /.] Rowe. Actus Quartus Ff ; omitted Qq. The Same . . .]
The Same. The Lovers, at a Distance, asleep, Capell. The Wood Pope.
Enter . . .] Enter Queene of Faieries, and Clowne, and Faieries : and the King
behinde them Qq, Ff. 1. [seating him on a Bank] Capell. 7, 8. Mounsieur]
Qq, Ff ; monsieur Rowe.

Act iv .\ Johnson says: “I see no vii. (p. 82, ed. 1567), “Their dangling
reason why the Fourth Act should Dewlaps with his hand he coyd vnfear-
begin here, when there seems no inter- fully ” ; Peele’s Arraignment of Paris,
ruption of the action.” But Furness in. i. (ed. Dyce) ;
aptly remarks : “It is precisely because “ Lo, yonder comes the lovely nymph,

there is so little ‘ interruption of the that in these Ida vales

action 5 that it is necessary to have an Plays with Amyntas 5 lusty boy, and

interruption of time, which this division coys him in the dales 1 ”

supplies. At the close of the last scene and Warner’s Albion' s England, vi 30
the stage is pitch-dark, doubly black (ed. 1602), “and whilst she coyes his
through Puck’s charms, and a change sooty cheekes, or curies his sweaty
to daylight is rendered less violent by top.”

a new Act.” 4. my gentle joy] Cf. 11. i. 27, “makes

2. coy.] caress. See Golding’s Ovid, him [the changeling] all her joy.”

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 113

BoL Mounsfcur Cobweb; good mounsieur, get your 10
weapons in your kand, and kill me a red-hipped*
humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good
mounsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not
fret yourself too much in the action, mounsieur ;
and, good mounsieur, have a care the honey- 1 5
bag break not; I would be loth to have you
overflown with a honey-bag, signior. Where’s
mounsieur Mustard-seed ?

Mus. Ready.

BoL Give me your neaf, mounsieur Mustard-seed. 20
Pray you, leave your courtesy, good moun-
sieur.

Mus. What ’s your will ?

BoL Nothing, good mounsieur, but to help Cavalery

Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber’s, 25
mounsieur; for methinks I am marvellous hairy
about the face : and I am such a tender ass, if
my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch.

Tita. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet
love ? *

IQ- get your] Q I ; get Q 2, Ff. 17. overflown ] overflow'd Malone conj,
20. your] thy Pope ; neaf] neafe Qq, F I ; nezvfe F 2 ; newse F 3 ; news F4.
Mustard-seed] Qq, Fl, 2; Mustard ¥ 2, 4. 21. courtesy] curtsie Q I ; courtesie

Q 2, F 1, 2 ; curtesie F 3, 4. 24. Cavalery] Qq, F x ; cavalcro F 2, 3, 4.

25. Cobweb] Peaseblossom Rann (Anon. of. Grey conj.). 26. marvellous]
marztazles Q 1 ; maruaitous Q 2 ; marvels Capell. 28. do] doth Rowe (ed. 2).
29. some] some some Q 2, ’■ .

20. neaf] fist; Icel. kncfi. Cf. # 24,25. Cavalery Cobweb] Cobweb here

Henry IV, 11. iv. 200, * 4 Sweet knight, is probably a mistake for Peaseblossom,
I kiss thy neif.” as Cobweb had already been dispatched

21* leave your courtesy ] i.e. dispense against the humble-bee ; unless indeed
with compliment, put on your hat. Cf. we are to suppose that Bottom is in facL
Love's Labour's Lost , v. i. X03, “re- addressing Peaseblossom, but gives him
member thy courtesy ; I beseech thee, the wrong name,
apparel thy head. 5 '

8

114 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DJIEAM [activ.

Bot. I have a reasonable good ear In musi£ : let's 30

-have the tongs and tfye bones.*

Tita. Or say, sweet love, what thou desir’st to eat.

Bot , Truly, a peck of provender: I could munch
your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great
desire to a bottle of hay : good hay, sweet hay, 3 5

hath no fellow.

Tit a. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek

The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee newest nuts.

•

30. Let’s] Lets Q 1 ; Let us Q 2, Ff. 31. tongs] to 7 igucs F 2. Musicke
Tongs, Rurall Musicke] Ff ; omitted Qq. 37, 38.] as in Hanmer ; Q I has two
lines, ending hoord and nuts ; Q 2, Ff three lines, ending Fairy, board, nuts.
38. thee] thee thence Hanmer, thee the Walker conj., for thee Collier conj.;
newest] Kinnear conj., newe Qq, new Ff, mellow Craig conj.

31. the tongs and the bones] “The ciple’s Tale , Words of the Pilgrims, line

music of the tongs was produced, I 14, “Although it be nat worth a hotel
believe, by striking them with a key, hey”; and the common proverb, “to
while the bones were played upon by look for a needle in a bottle of hay.”
rattling them between the fingers.” The phrase “a bottle of straw,” as Craig
Dyce. remarks, is in common use in the north

31. Musicke Tongs, Rurall Musicke] of Ireland. See Eng. Dial. Diet., s.v.
“ This scenical direction,” says Capell, 36. no fellow] Cf. Julius Ccesar , in.
“is certainly an interpolation of the i. 62, “ There is no fellow in the firma-
plaj^ers, as no such direction appears in ment.”

either Quarto, and Titania’s reply is a 38. newest] the conjecture of Kinnear.
clear exclusion of it.” Titania, in her desire to gratify Bottom,

32. Or say . . . eat] This line is would naturally seek to bribe him with

printed as prose in the Globe and Cam- the newest and freshest nuts. A syl-
bridge editions, wrongly so I think, as lable must have dropped out of the line ;
all Titania’s speeches are in verse, and on account of the similarity be-
Marshall remarks that <( desirest is not tween “thee” and “thence” there is
elided in F 1 ; but it is almost certain much to be said for the reading of
this line was intended for verse, the Hanmer ; but the addition of “ thence ”
non-elision being accidental.” adds nothing to the meaning, and has

35. bottle of hay] “bottle” is the dimin- the effect of removing all stress from
utive of the French botte 9 o. bundle, of the adjective, — a distinct loss. It is
hay, flax, etc. Iialliwell says “ a bottle possible, not to say probable, that, hav-
of hay was not a mere 4 bundle,’ but some ing regard to the spelling of the Qq, i.e.
measure of provender ... In a court- 4 4 newe, ’’the final letters of 44 newest”
book dated 1551, the halfpenny bottle (~st) may have been omitted in the Qq
of hay is stated to weigh two pounds from confusion with the final letters of
and a half, and the penny bottle five 44 nuts ”(-&). In any case, Shakespeare
pounds.” Cotgrave, 44 Boteler. To uses the superlative form half a dozen
bottle, or bundle up; to make into times, e.g. Tempest , n. ii. 28, 4 4 the
bottles, or bundles.” Cf. Chaucer, Man- newest poor-John,”

I

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 115

Bot. I had Father have a handful or two of dried peas.

But, I pray you, Iht none of your people stir me ; 40

I have an exposition of sleep come upon me.

Tita, Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.

Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away.

[Exeunt Fames .

So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently en twist; the female ivy so 45

, Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

43. all ways] Theobald ; alwaies Qq, F I ; alwayes F 2, 3; always F 4 ;
a while ITanmer ; away] £ tl£ way Heath conj. [Exeunt . . .] Capell ; omitted
Qq, Ff. 44, 45. woodbine ... entwist /] woodbine , . . . Honisuckle y . . ,
entwist : Q I ; woodbine^ . . . Honisuckle y . . . entwist ; Q 2, Ff ; woodbine]
weedbind Steevens conj. 45. entwist; ike fe?nale] entwist the maple;
Theobald (Warburton conj.). 45, 46. entwist; . . . Enrings] entwist , . . .
Enring, \ Capell.

43. all ways] i.e, as Theobald says,
“disperse yourselves that danger ap-
proach us from no quarter. 55

44, 45. woodbme . . . entwist] The
general idea here meant to be conveyed
is clear enough ; the difficulty lies in
ascertaining exactly what plant Shake-
speare meant by “woodbine. 55 It is
used by him in only two other passages,
namely, in 11. i. 251 of this play, “ Quite
over-canopied with lush woodbine,”
where it must mean “ honeysuckle 55 ;
and in Much Ado , ill. i. 30, of Beatrice,
“couched in the woodbine coverture, 5 ’
obviously referring to line 7 of that
■scene:';' ■

“ the pleached bower.

Where honeysuckles, ripened by the
sun,

F orbid the sun to enter. 55 ■

Steevens supposed that “the sweet
honeysuckle ” is in opposition to “wood-
bine, 55 and that “ entwist, 55 as well as
“enrings,” governs the “barky fingers
of the elm. 5 ’ The alternative, and only
satisfactory, solution is to take woodbine
as a different plant from honej^suckle.
Gifford, in his note on the passage in
Ben Jonson 5 s Vision of Delight , a
Masque, 1617 (Works, vii. 308) —

“ behold !

How the blue bindweed doth itself
infold

With honey-suckle, and both these
intwine

Themselves with bryony and jessa-
mine 55 —

says: “This passage settles the mean-
ing of the speech of Titania in a Mid-
summer-Nighf s Dream . . , The
woodbine of Shakespeare is the blue
bindweed of Jonson ; in many of our
counties the woodbine is still the name
for the great convolvulus, 55 As bind-
weed is the popular name for the con-
volvulus, notwithstanding that it is also
used of other climbing plants, e.g. smilax,
bitter sweet, ivy, etc,, it is probable
that by the “blue bindweed” Jonson
meant the common purple (or blue)
convolvulus. See Gerard, Herball
(1597), 864. “On the whole,” says
Marshall, “considering the lax use of
the word ‘woodbine, 5 we must take
it to mean some other plant than the
honeysuckle, probably the Convolvulus
septum.” See EHacombe, Plant Lore
of Shakespeare, 1896, p. 131.

45. female ivy] So Catullus, 62. $4,
of the vine, “ulmo conjuncta marito,”

116 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [activ.

O, how I love thee ! how I dote on thee I-

[They sleep.

Enter PUCK.

Obe . [Advancing.] Welcome, good Robin. See’ st thou this
sweet sight ?

Her dotage now I do begin to pity :

For meeting her of late, behind the wood, SO

Seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool,

I did upbraid her and fall out with her :

For she his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers ;

And that same dew, which sometime on the buds 5 5
Was wont to swell, like round and orient pearls,

Stood now within the pretty flowerets’ eyes.

Like tears, that did their own disgrace bewail
When I had at my pleasure taunted her,

And she, in mild terms, begg’d my patience, 60

I then did ask of her her changeling child ;

Which straight she gave me, and her fairies sent

47. [They sleep] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff. Enter Puck Rowe ; Enter Robin
Goodfellow Qq ; Enter Robin Goodfellow and Oberon Ff; Oberon advances.
Enter Puck] Capell. 48. [Advancing] Collier; as in Qq; two lines Ff.
51. favours] Q 1 ; favors F 4 ; sauors Q 2, F I ; savors F 2, 3. 57. flowerets 5 ]

flour lets Qq, Ff ; flour els Johnson ; flour ct s' Steevens ( 1793 )- 62. fairies]

Dyce ; fairy Qq, Ff.

Wright compares Fairfax's Tasso, Hi, 75,
“ The married Elme fell with his fruit-
full vine.” See also Comedy of Errors,
xi. ii. 176, “Thou art an elm, my
husband. I a vine. ”

51. favours ] love-tokens. So in many
passages of Shakespeare, e.g. 11. i. 12
of this play. Dyce {Notes, 62) says :
“I think e favours 5 decidedly right.
Titania was seeking flowers for Bottom
to wear as ‘ favours. 5 Compare Greene,
* These [fair women] with syren-like
allurement entised these quaint squires.

that they bestowed all their e flowers 5
vpon them for ‘favours. 5 Quip for an
Vpstart Ccmrtier , Sig. B 2, ed. 1620. ”
56. orient] CL Richard III . IV. iv.
322, “ liquid drops of tears . . . trans-
formed to orient pearl ” ; and Venus
and Adonis, 981, “yet sometimes falls
an orient drop. 55 Craig refers to Dray-
ton, Polyolbion, song, v. 17 : ^

“ The path was strew’ d with pearls
which though they orient were
Yet scarce known from her feet,
they were so wondrous clear. 55

3

sci.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 117

To bear him to my bower in fairy land.

And now I have 4 he boy, J will undo *

This hateful imperfection of her eyes. 65

And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain ;

That, he awaking when the other do,

May all to Athens back again repair ;

And think no more of this night's accidents 70

But as the fierce vexation of a dream.

But first I will release the fairy queen.

Be as thou wast wont to be ;

See as thou wast wont to see :

Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower 75

Hath such force and blessed power.

Now, my Titania ; wake you, my sweet queen.

Tita . My Oberon ! what visions have I seen !

Methought I was enamour’d of an ass.

67. off] ofQi; this] the Johnson. 68. That , he] That hee Q r ; That he
Q 2, Ff; other] others Rowe. 69. May all] All may Grey conj. 73. Be]
Qq, Be thou Ff. [touching her Eyes with an Herb] Capell ; Anointing her Eyes
Collier (ed. 2). 75. o'er] Theobald (Thirlby conj. ) ; or Qq, Ff.

73, 74. Be . . . be, See . . . see] 1 * A
sort of repetition which Puttenham (The
Arte of English JPoesie, iii. 19) calls
Epanalepsis, or the Echo sound, and
thus describes : Ye have another sort
of repetition, when ye make one worde
both beginne and end your verse, which
therefore I call the slow retourne,
othefwise the Echo sound, as thus :

Much must he be loued, that loveth
much,

Feare many must he needs, whom
many feare.

Unless I call him the echo sound, I
could not tell what name to give him,
unlesse it were the slow retourne.”
Rushton, Shakespeare Illustrated, part
ifp. *9*

7 5. Elan's bud] Steevens says : u This
is the bud of the Agnus Castus or
Chaste Tree . Thus in Macer‘s Herball ,
the vertue of this herbe is, that he wyll
kepe man and woman chaste.” So
Chaucer in The Flower and the Leaf,
473 •

“ That is Diane, goddesse of chas-
titie,

And for because that she a maiden

In her hond the braimch she beareth
this.

That Ag}ius castus men call pro-
perly.”

75. Cupid's Jlower\ the pansy, the
sc little western dower” of 11/ i. 16 6,
and 11, ii. 27, ante.

118 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ.

Obe. There lies your love.

Tito. How came these things to pass? So

O, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now !

Obe . Silence, a while. — Robin, take off this head, —

Titania, music call ; and strike more dead
Than common sleep of all these five the sense.

Tita . Music, ho! music; such as charmeth sleep. 85

[Music, still.

Puck . Now, when thou wakest, with thine own fool's eyes
peep.

Obe. Sound, music ! Come, my queen, take hands with me.

And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.

Now thou and I are new in amity,

And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly 90

Dance in duke Theseus' house triumphantly,

And bless it to all fair posterity :

81. do] doth Q 2, F 1 ; his ] Q I ; this Q2, Ff. 82, this] Qq, his Ff. 84,
sleep of all these five] Theobald (Thirlby conj.) ; sleepe: of all these, fine Qq, F 1,
2 ; sleep; of all these find V 3, 4 ; sleep. Of all these fine Rowe (ed, 2). .85.

ho!] howe Q 1. [Music, still] Musick still Ff ; omitted Qq ; Still Musick Theo-
bald. 86. Nozv, when thou wakest '] Q I ; when thou wa/dst Q 2, F 1 ; when
thou awaT si F 2, 3, 4. 92. fair posterity ] Q 2, Ff ; fair prosperity Q 1 ; far

posterity Hanmer (Warburton).

83. dead] Cf. Julius C cesar, iv. iii. 89. new] newly. Cf. Ha?nlet , n. ii.
267, “O murderous slumber ! ” and 510, “ Aroused vengeance sets him new
Tempest , v. i, 220, “we were dead of a-work,”

sleep.” 92. posterity] I think the balance

84. these five] i.e. Hermia, Helena, sways, though slightly, in favour of the

Lysander, Demetrius, Bottom. reading of Q 2, Ff, and chiefly on

85. Music, still] Dyce {Remarks, 48) account of the greater emphasis which

says: “‘Music still’ is nothing more than it gives to “fair.” The blessing is
still music; . . . the music, instead of clearly amplified in 400-41 1 of v. i.
c ceasing before Puck spoke’ (Collier), “I prefer the present text/’ says Furness,
was not intended to commence at all “It involves a larger blessing. To
till Oberon had said ‘ Sound music ! ’ Theseus’s marriage the fairies bring
The stage-direction here (as we fre- present triumph, but on his house they
quently find in early editions of plays) confer the blessing of a fair posterity.”
was placed prematurely, to warn the Malone and most editors prefer the
musicians to be in readiness.” “ prosperity ” of Q 1, probably on the

88. rock thegrotmd] See Introduction, strength of 11. i. 73, “to give their bed
and Hi, ii. 25, “at our stamp.” 'oy and prosperity.”

§

sc. i.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 119

There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Thjseus, all in jollity. *

Fuck . Fairy king, attend and mark : 95

I do hear the morning lark.

Obe . Then, my queen, in silence sad,

Trip we after nightes shade ;

We the globe can compass soon,

Swifter than the wandering moon. IQO

Tita . Come, my lord ; and in our flight,

Tell me how it came this night,

That I sleeping here was found,

With these mortals on the ground.

[Exeunt. Horns winded within .

Enter THESEUS, HlPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train .

The . Go, one of you, find out the forester; 105

For now our observation is perform'd :

And since we have the vaward of the day,

My love shall hear the music of my hounds.

Uncouple in the western valley ; go,

93. the] Qq, F I ; these F 2, 3, 4, 95. Fairy ] Qq ; Faire F I, 2 ; Fair
F 3, 4. 97* sad] fade Theobald ; staid Daniel conj. 98. nightes]

nights Q 1 ; the nights Q 2, Ff ; the night 3 s Rowe. 103.] Plere the Ff give
the stage-direction “Sleepers Lye still/’ 104. [Horns . . . within] winde
home Q I ; winde homes Q 2, Ff. 105. Scene //.] Pope. Enter . . . and
train] Enter . . . and all his traine Ff ; Enter Theseus and all his traine Qq.
109. Uncouple , . . go] Uncouple . . . let tketn go Qq, Ff; let them omitted
Pope; Let them uncouple in the wester valley: Go; Capell con]. ; Uncouple]
Uncoupl'd Anon. ap. Rann conj.

97. sad] grave, serious. See IX. i. 9S. nightes] Cf. “ raoones,” XI. L 7
51, “saddest tale”; in. ii. 237, “sad and note thereon,
looks” ; in. ii. 439, “curst and sad” ; 106. ohset'vation ] See 1. i. 167.

v. i. 294, “ to make a man look sad”; 107, vaward ] van (properly of an

As You Like Lt, III. ii. 227, “speak, army) prima cedes. Coles’s Lat. and
sad brow, and true maid ” ; and many Eng. Did .

other passages. The rhyme is imper- 109. Uncouple, etc.] It is very doubt -
feet, but not inferior to several in this ful whether we have this line in the Qq,
play. Ff as it left Shakespeare’s hand. No

120 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ.

Despatch, I say, and find the forester. [Exit an Attend.
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain’s top, 1 1 1
And mark the musical confusion
Of hounds and echo in conjunction.

Hip . I was with Hercules and Cadmus once,

When in a wood of Crete they bay’d the boar 1 1 5

no. [Exit . . .] Dyce; omitted Qq,
conj.) ; bear Qq, Ff.

other Alexandrine, or apparent Alex-
andrine, occurs in this play, and various
efforts have been made to emend the
line. Pope left out “let them,” and
he is followed by Dyce and most other
editors. Marshall omits “ western,”
on the ground that there is no particular
meaning in “the western valley.” On
the contrary, it appears to me to give a
certain local colour, and ought to be
retained; whereas “let them” is use-
less to the sense, as all that is required
is already expressed in the single word
“uncouple.” Cf. the only other pas-
sage in Shakespeare in which the word
occurs (if indeed Shakespeare be re-
sponsible for it), namely, Titus Andron -
ions, n. ii. 3, “Uncouple here and let
us make a bay.” “ Go ” in this line is,

I think, imperative, just as in line 10S ;
and the above passage in Titus Andron -
icus increases the suspicion that the
insertion of the words “let them” is a
mere blunder and interpolation of a
compositorignorant of the exact meaning
of ‘ * uncouple, ” and fancying that “ go ”
was an infinitive and not an imperative.

1 14. Hercules ] The chronology which
brings Cadmus with Hercules and Hip-
polyta into the hunting-field together
may be left to adjust itself, as Wright
remarks.

1 15. the boar] This is the suggestion
of Theobald, adopted by Hanmer,
Capell, Dyce, Walker, and Hudson,
On the other hand, we have the great
authority of the Qq, Ff and the opinions
of Steevens, Malone, Wright, and others
in favour of retaining c £ bear. ” Steevens,
in defence of “bear,” refers to the

Ff. 1 15. boar] Hanmer (Theobald

painting in the temple of Mars of “ The
hunte strangled with the wilde beeres,”
Chaucer, Knigktes Tale , line n6o r (ed.
Morris), 201 S (ed. Pollard), and ob-
serves, “ Bear-baiting was likewise once
a diversion esteemed proper for royal
personages, even of the softer sex.”
Malone refers to Antigonus in The
Winter' s Tale (in. iii.) being destroyed
by a bear, which is chased by hunters.
He also cites Venus and Adonis , 883 :

“For now she knows it is no gentle
chase,

But the blunt boar, rough bear, or
lion proud.”

Toilet quotes Holinshed, Pliny, Plu-
tarch, etc., as mentioning “bear-
hunting”; and Wright thinks the
references to “bear” and “bear-
hunting” in Shakespeare are suffici-
ently numerous to justify the old read-
ing. For the reading “boar” it may
be urged that the misprint of “e” for
“o”was “the easiest of all misprints
in Shakespeare’s time,” as White (ed.
1) justly remarks. As to the quotation
from Chaucer, it is somewhat remark-
able that the Harl. MS. reads, “The
hunte strangled with wilde * bores 7
corage ” ; Morris in his note, however,
considering this reading as corrupt,-
“for the £ boar 7 does not strangle.”
Theobald remarks that “ the Eryman-
thian hoar was famous among the
Herculean labours 77 ; and Capell that
“in penning this passage, the poet
appears to have had in his eye the
£ boar 7 of Thessaly, and To have picked
up some ideas from the famous descrip-
tion of that hunting”; and Walker

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 121

With hounds of Sparta : never did I hear
Such gallant chiding; for, besides the groves, ,

The skies, the mountains, every region near
Seem’d all one mutual cry : I never heard
So musical a discord, such sweet thunder. 120

The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind.

So flew’d, so sanded ; and their heads are hung

1 1 8. mountains'] An on. ap. Theobald conj. 119. Seem'd] F 2, 3, 4 ; Seeme

Qq, F I.

thinks the story of Meleager would be
sufficient to suggest the use of ‘‘boar”
to Shakespeare ; and this seems to be
confirmed by the reference in Antony
and Cleopatra , iv. xiii. 2, to 44 the
boar of Thessaly, 5 ’ which Steevens
explained as 4 4 the boar killed by
Meleager.” The quotation from the
Venus is indecisive, both animals be-
ing mentioned ; and both are also
mentioned in II. ii. 30, 31, ante . Dyce
thinks the passages from Chaucer, Hol-
inshed, etc., are of little or no weight,
and in this I agree. On the balance of
the probabilities, and especially having
regard to the fact that the Venus pre-
ceded the Midsummer Night's Dream
by a year or two only, and that conse-
quently the hunting of the “boar” would
naturally be fresh in Shakespeare’s
mind, and to the mention of Thessaly
in lines 127 and 131, post, I have come
to the conclusion that “boar” is the
correct reading,

1 1 6. hotmds of Sparta] swift and keen
of scent. Cf, Vergil, Georgies , iii. 405 :

“ Veloces Spartse catulos acremque
Molossum
Pasce sero pingui.”

Halliwell quotes Golding’s Ovid (p.
33, ed. 1567) in the description of
Actseon’s dogs, “This latter was a
hounde of Crete, the other was of
Spart.”

1 1 7. chiding] noise, sound, cry. Cf.
As You Like It, II. i. 7, 44 and churlish
chiding of the winter’s wind and Henry
VIII, m. ii. 197, 44 the chiding flood.”

1 18. mountains] This, I think, is

much the more probable reading,
having regard to Theseus’s mention
of 44 mountain’s ” top in line 114, ante,
and notwithstanding Theobald’s quota-
tion from Vergil, Asneid, xii. 756,
44 ripseque lacusque Responsant circa.”

120. musical a discord] In Shake-
speare’s early poetic period, at least, he
was particularly fond of these verbal
antitheses. Cf. v. i. 56-60; and the
splendidly musical lines in Venus and
Adonis , 431, 432 (of Adonis’s 44 mer-
maid’s voice ”) :

44 Melodious discord, heavenly tune
harsh-sounding,

Ear’s deep -sweet music, and
heart’s deep-sore wounding.”

1 21. My hounds] Baynes {Edin.
Rev,, Oct 1872) remarks: 44 Shake-
speare might probably enough, as the
commentators suggest, have derived
his knowledge of Cretan and Spartan
hounds from Golding’s Ovid . * , But
in enumerating the points of the slow,
sure, deep-mouthed hound, it can
hardly be doubted he had in view the
celebrated Talbot breed nearer home.”
See Madden’s Diary of Master William
Silence (1S97).

122. flow'd] 44 flews” are the large
chaps of a deep-mouthed hound.
Hanmer. See Golding’s Ovid (1567),
Rk. iii. 33 :

44 And shaggie Rugge with other
twaine that had a Byre of Crete,
And Dam of Sparta ; Tone of them
callde lollyboy, a great
And large-flewd hound.”

122. satided] 44 It means of a sandy

122 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ

With ears that sweep away the morning 4 ew ;
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lapp'd like Thessalian bulls ;
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells, 1 2 5
Each under each. A cry more tuneable
Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn,

In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly :

Judge, when you hear. But, soft; what nymphs are
these ?

Ege . My lord, this is my daughter here asleep: 130

And this, Lysander ; this Demetrius is ;

This Helena, old Nedar’s Helena:

I wonder of their being here together.

124. Thessalian ] Tkessalonian F 4.
Nestor’s Walker conj. 133. of their] <

colour, which is one of the true develop-
ments of a bloodhound,” Steevens.

123. ears , . . dew] Wright quotes
Heywood’s Brazen Age , II. ii. :

“the fierce Thessalian hounds
With their flagge eares, ready to
sweep the dewe
From the moist earth.”

124. dew-lapp’d] Cf. The Tempest ,
ill. iii. 45, where the same expression
is used of “ mountaineers.”

125. match! d in mouth like bells ]
Marshall compares Day’s lie of Gulls ,
11. ii. : “ Dametas, were thine eares euer
at a more musical! banquet ? How the
hounds mouthes, like bells, are tuned
one vnder another ” ; and The Mar-
tyr a Souldier, ill. i., in Bullen’s Old
Plays, i. 203, “A packe of the bravest
Spartan Dogges in the world; if they
do but one open and spend there gabble,
gabble, gabble, it will make the Forest
ecchoe as if a Ring of bells were in it ;
admirably flewd, by their eares you
would take ’em to be singing boyes.”
Baynes {Edin. Rev^ Oct. 1872} says :
“It is .clear that in Shakespeare’s day
the greatest attention was paid to the
musical quality of the cry. It was a
ruling consideration in the formation of

130. is] omitted Q 1. 132. Neda? J> s ]

) 1; of this Q 2, Ff ; at their Pope.

a pack that it should possess the mus-
ical fulness and strength of a perfect
canine quire. And hounds of good
voice were selected and arranged in the
hunting chorus on the same general
principles that govern the formation of
a cathedral or any other more articulate
choir.” And he refers to Markham’s
Country Contentments , p. 6: “If you
would have your kennell for sweetnesse
of cry, then you must compound it of
some large dogges, that have deepe
solemne mouthes, and are swift in
spending, which must, as it were, beare
the base in the consort, then a double
number of roaring and loud ringing
mouthes, which must beare the counter
tenour, then some hollow, plaine,
sweete mouthes, which must beare the
meane or middle part; and soe with
these three parts of musicke you shall
make your cry perfect.”

126. A cry] a pack of hounds giving
tongue. Cf. Othello , 11. iii. 3 76, “not
like a hound that hunts, but one that
fills up the cry.”

133. of] Cf. Hi. i. 44, ante, “’Twere
pity of my life”; and 141, i>ost ,
“answer of her choice.”

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 123

The. No doybt, they rose up early to observe

The rite of May >and, hearing our intent, 1 3 5

Came here in grace of our solemnity.

But speak, Egeus * is not this the day
That Hermia should give answer of her choice.

Ege. It is, my lord.

The . Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. 140
[Horns, and shout within . Demetrius , Lysander ,
Hermia , and Helena wake and start tip.
The . Good-morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past ;

Begin these wood-birds but to couple now?

Lys. Pardon, my lord.

The. I pray you all, stand up.

I know you two are rival enemies ;

How comes this gentle concord in the world, 145
That hatred is so far from jealousy,

To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity?

Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly,

Half ’sleep, half waking : but as yet, I swear,

I cannot truly say how I came here: 150

But, as I think, (for truly would I speak,

135 - rite] Pope; right Qq, Ff. 140] [Horns . . .] Theobald. Shoute
within: they all start vp. Winde homes Qq, Hornes and they wake. Shout
within, they all start vp Ff. 146. is] is is F 1. 149. ' sleep] Capell ; sleep

Qq, Ff.

14S. amazedly] In The Tempest, V. i. 462, 4 ‘bespeaks plain cannon ft re.”
i. 215, is the stage-direction : Re-enter But these constructions seem analogous
Ariel with the Master and Boatswain to that of the cognate accusative in the
amazedly following. classics; cf. our “looking daggers”;

149. Half' sleep, half waking] Wright and the loose connection of the words
thinks these words are here substantives, with the verb seems to render Wright's
and are loosely connected with the verb construction altogether too strained,
“reply.” He quotes in support Merry Most editors regard “’sleep” and
Wives, hi. ii. 69, “he speaks holiday”; “waking” as adjectives, not substan-
Twelfth Night, I. v. 115, “he speaks tives.
nothing but madman” ; King John , n.

124 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ.

And now I do bethink me, so it is,)

I came with Hermia Either : our intent
Was to be gone from Athens, where we might,
Without the peril of the Athenian law. 155

Ege. Enough, enough, my lord ; you have enough :

I beg the law, the law, upon his head.

They would have stolen away, they would, Demetrius,
Thereby to have defeated you and me,

You of your wife, and me of my consent, 160

Of my consent that she should be your wife.

Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth,

Of this their purpose hither to this wood ;

And I in fury hither follow’d them,

Fair Helena in fancy following me. 165

But, my good lord, I wot not by what power,

(But by some power it is,) my love to Hermia,

Melted as is the snow, seems to me now
As the remembrance of an idle gawd,

154, 155. might, . . . law ] might . . . lawe, Q 1 ; might be . . . law Q 2,
Ff ; might Be without peril . . . law * Hanmer ; might, . . , law t — Dyce ;
might Without . . . law ... Keightley. 164. follow'd'] Rowe; followed
Qq, Ff. 165, following Q 1 ; followed Q 2, Ff. 167-169.] as in Pope;
Qq, Ff end lines at love . . . snow . . . gawd. 168. Melted as is] Steevens
(1785) ; Melted as Qq, Ff ; Is melted as Pope ; Melted as doth Capeli; All
melted as Staunton conj, ; Melted as melts Byce (ed. 2) ; Melted as thaws
Kinnear conj.

1 54) *55* cohere . . . law] Dyce (ed. fallen out. I prefer the reading of the
2) says: “Q 2 and the Ff complete Johnson and Steevens Var. of 1785,
the sentence very awkwardly by adding “ melted as is,” to any other ; first, be-
4 be 5 to the reading of Q 1. Perhaps cause it comes nearest to “as” in the
Hanmer was right in his text.” I agree, trace of the letters; and next, which
“Without” seems to have a locative is somewhat remarkable, in F r lines
sense, as in 1. ii. 204, and means “be- 170- 172 are wrongly spaced, and the
yond.” See Tempest , v. i. 271, “And “is” in “by some power it is” is
deal in her command, without her printed directly over the place where
power ” (if the passage is to be inter- the missing word ought to come in, the
preted in this sense). fair inference, I think, being that the

168. Melted . . » snow] This line is second “is” escaped the compositor’s
irregular,, a syllable having undoubtedly notice.

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 125

Which Jn my childhood I did dote upon: 170

And all the faith, .the virtue of my heart,

The object, and the pleasure of mine eye,

Is only Helena, To her, my lord,

Was I betroth’d ere I saw Hermia :

But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food; 175

Now, as in health, come to my natural taste ;

Now I do wish it, love it, long for it,

And will for evermore be true to it.

The . Fair lovers, you are fortunately met :

Of this discourse we will hear more anon. 180

Egeus, I will overbear your will ;

For in the temple, by and by with us,

These couples shall eternally be knit.

And, for the morning now is something worn,

Our purposed hunting shall be set aside. 185

Away, with us, to Athens ! three and three,

We ’ll hold a feast in great solemnity.

Come, Hippolyta. [, Exeunt The., Hip Ege., and train ,
Dem . These things seem small and undistinguishable,

174. betroth'd] betrothed Q i; saw Hermia ] Steevens (1778); see Hermia

Qq, Ff ; did see Hermia Rowe (ed. 1) ; Hermia saw Rowe (ed. 2). 175. But ,

like in] Belike as Bulloch conj. ; When, like in Kiunear conj. ; in sickness]
Steevens {1793) (Farmer conj.) ; a sickness Qq, Ff. I 76. Now] Editor,^
Hanmer. 177. 2 do] Q 1 % do / Q 2, Ff. 180. we will hear more] we more
will here Q i, we will hears more Q 2, we shall hear e more Ff, more will we hear
Lettsom conj. 187, 188. We'll . . . Hippolyta] one line Qq. 188. Come ,
Hippolyta j Come, my Hippolyta Hanmer. Exeunt . . .] Exeunt Duke and
Lords Ff; Exit Q 2 ; omitted Q I.

175. like in sickness] Furness agrees emphasises, warrants the repetition or
with Wright in thinking that there is a u Now ” ; and that Farmer’s change
corruption here, and that it lies in the [namely, of “a” to “in”] serves to show
repetition of “But ” ; and he supposes us how little repugnance there was, to
that the latter “ But " {i.e. commencing cultivated ears of that day, to the use
line 176) has intruded into the place of of “ like” as a conjunction. See
“Now”; and he also thinks that the Walker (Crit. ii. 1 15) for many instances
strong contrast between his former and of the use of “ like” in the sense of
his present state, which Demetrius “as.”

126 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ.

Like far-off mountains turned into clouds^ 190

Her. -Methinks I see these things with parted eye,

When everything seems double.

HeL So methinks :

And I have found Demetrius like a jewel,

Mine own, and not mine own*

Dem . Hay, are you sure

That we are yet awake? It seems to me 195

That yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think r
The duke was here, and bid us follow him ?

Her . Yea; and my father.

HeL And Hippolyta.

Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple.

Dem. Why then, we are awake : let } s follow him ; 200

And by the way let us recount our dreams. [Exeunt.

[ Bottom awakes.

Bat. When my cue comes, call me, and i will answer :

193. like] omitted Iianmer ; jewel] gemell Theobald (Warburton), double
Cartwright conj. 194, 195. Nay, are you sure That we arc yet awake ?] Editor ;
Are you stir e That we are awake? Qq ; omitted Ff; Bui are . . . well awake?

Capell ; But are . . . now awake ?
Malone. 199. did bid ] Qi; bid Q 2
verse in Rowe (ed. 2). 201. let us]

Exit Lovers Ff ; Exit Q 2 ; omitted Q
awakes] Bottoms wakes Ff, omitted Qq.

19 1. parted eye j with the eyes out
of focus. “The eyes being out of
unison so that the images in the two
eyes do not coincide so as to form one
picture.” Phin. Glossary . Schmidt’s
very German explanation, “divided
into pieces,” is utterly inadmissible.

193, like a jewel ] “ Plelena, I think,
means to say that having ‘found’
Demetrius ‘unexpectedly,’ she con-
sidered her property in him as insecure
as that which a person has in a jewel
that he has ‘ found ’ by ‘ accident 5 ;
which he knows not whether he shall

teevens conj. ; Are . . . now awake ?

Ff. 200, 201.] prose in Qq, Ff ;
Q 2, Ff; lets Q 1. [Exeunt] Rowe;
I. 202. Scene ill.] Pope. [Bottom

retain, and which therefore may pro-
perly enough be called ‘his own and
not his own. ’ ” Malone. Cf. Merchant
of Venice , ill. ii. 18 :

“ O these naughty times
Put bars between the owners and
their rights !

And so, though yours, not yours
also Measure for Measure, II. i. 24,
“ The jewel that we find we stoop
and take ’t.”

194. Nay ... awake] The reading
of Capell is perhaps as good as any.
The Ff omit the passage.

' I

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 127

my nqct is, “ Most fair Pyramus” Heigh-ho !

Peter Quince! •Flute, .the bellows- mender!

Snout, the tinker! Starveling! God's my life; 205

stolen hence, and left me asleep ! I have had a

most rare vision. I have had a dream, past

the wit of man to say what dream it was : man

is but an ass, if he go about to expound this

dream. Methought I was — there is no man can 210

tell what. Methought I was, — and methought

I had, — but man is but a patched fool, if he will

offer to say what methought I had. The eye of

man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not

seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue 215

to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my

dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a

ballad of this dream : it shall be called Bottom's

dream, because it hath no bottom ; and I will

sing it in the latter end of a play, before the 220

duke : perad venture, to make it the more gracious,

I shall sing it after death. [Exit.

207. I have had ] Qq, I had Ff. 209. to] omitted Q 1. 212. a patched ]

a patch'd Ff, patcht a Qq. 21S. ballad ] F 4 ; ballet Qq, F I, 2, 3. 220.

a play] the play Hanmer, our play Hudson (Walker conj.}. 222, after] Theo-
bald; at her Qq, Ff.

212. patched foot] 44 A fool in a parti- conjecture of 44 our ” in this passage
coloured coat.” Johnson. Cf. “a has been adopted by Dyce and Hudson,
crew of patches,” ill. ii. 9, ante , and 222. after death] The conjecture of
the 4 4 motley fool” of As You Like It, Theobald, which has been adopted by
11. vii. 13, etc. numerous editors. “ He, as Pyramus,

218, 219. Bottom's dream] Fleay sug- is killed upon the scene, and so might
gests that Shakespeare may here intend promise to rise again at the conclusion
a glance at Robert Greene, who called of the Interlude and give the Duke his
one of his poems A Maiden's Dream, dream by way of a song.” Gapell
apparently because there was no maiden thinks 4 4 the singing after death does
in it. Possibly. ^ not allude to Pyramus’s death, but a

220. a play] "Walker ( Crit. ii. 320) death in some play, 4 a play 3 gener-
has collected several instances of the ally; opportunities of which the
confusion of 44 a” and 44 our”; and his speaker was very certain of, from the

128 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [activ.

SCENE II. — Athens. Quince's House.

Enter Quince, Flute, Snout, and Starveling.

Quin . Have you sent to Bottom’s house? is he come
home yet ?

Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt, he is
transported.

Flu. If he come not, then the play is marred ; it goes 5
not forward, doth it?

Quin. It is not possible : you have not a man in all
Athens able to discharge Pyramus, but he.

Flu. No ; he hath simply the best wit of any handi-
craft man in Athens. 10

Quin. Yea, and the best person too : and he is a very
paramour for a sweet voice.

Flu. You must say, paragon : a paramour is, God
bless us, a thing of , naught.

Scene II. ] Capell ; Scene IV. Pope. Athens Hanmer; Changes to the Town
Theobald ; Quince’s House] A Room in Quince’s blouse Capell. 1. Enter
, . V] Rowe (ed. 2} ; Enter Quince, Flute, Thisby, and the rabble Qq; Enter
Quince, Flute, Thisbie, Snout, and Starueling Ff. 3. Star.] Ff, Flut. Q 1,
Flute Q 2. 5, 9, 13, 19. Flu.] Flute. Rowe (ed. 2) ; Thys. or This, or Thisb.

Qq, Ff. 5, 6. goes not] Qq, F x, 2 ; goes F 3, 4. 11. Quin.] Snout. Phelps

(Halliwell conj.); too ] ^ Q 1. 13. Flu.] Quin. Phelps conj. 14.

naught] F 2, 3, 4; nought Qq, F 1. Enter Snug.] Rowe; Enter Snug, the
loyner. Qq, Ff,

satisfaction he made no question of giv- ally),” citing Measure for Measure ,
ing in discharging his present part.” IV. iii. 72, where the Duke says of
rr Barnardine, “to transport him in the

m u ' > ^ mind he is were damnable.” ££ Il does

1.] Theobald (see Nichols, Lit. not follow,” as Furness remarks, fC that
lUust. [1817], ii. 237) thought that the a meaning which is appropriate in the
Fifth Act should begin here, and Duke’s mouth is appropriate in Starve-
pointed out that the scene should shift ling’s” ; and there need be no hesitation
to Athens. in saying ££ outright that Schmidt is

4. transported] changed, translated downright wrong.”

(see ill. i. 117, and 122, ante), trans- 13,14. God bless us] See note’on v. i.
formed. Schmidt defines the word in 32 6 , post.

this passage by “to remove from this 14. a thing oj naught] “naught” and
world to the next, to kill (euphemistic- ££ nought ” are etymologically the same,

sc. h.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 129

Enter SNUG.

9

Snug , . Masters, the duke Is coming from the temple, i 5
and there is two or three lords and ladies more
married : if our sport had gone forward, we had
all been made men.

Flu . O sweet bully Bottom ! Thus hath he lost six-
pence a-day during his life; he could not have 20
’scaped sixpence a-day ; an the duke had not
given him sixpence a-day for playing Pyramus,

I ’ll be hanged ; he would have deserved it : six-
pence a-day in Pyramus, or nothing.

Enter BOTTOM.

Bot. Where are these lads ? where are these hearts ? 25

Quin. Bottom! O most courageous day! O most
happy hour !

Bot Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask

21. an] Pope ; And Qq, Ff. 25. hearts] harts Q 1. 27. [All croud

about him] Capell.

and the different senses are distinguished Preston acted a part in John Ritwise’s
in the spelling. That the proper spell- play of Dido before Queen Elizabeth at
ing here must be “naught” is clear Cambridge, in 1564; and the Queen
from the ejaculation of Flute. Marshall was so well pleased that she bestowed
compares Richard III \ 1. i. 97 : on him a pension of twenty pounds a

“ Brak . With this, my lord, myself year, which is little more than a shilling
have nought to do. a day.” Steevens. It is possible,

Glou. Naught to do with Mistress though hardly probable, that Shake-
Shore ! I tell thee, fellow, speare intended some ridicule on the
Pie that doth naught with her,” actor mentioned ; but he lived a genera-
te. ^ tion before Shakespeare wrote.

19. bully] See ill. i. 8. 26. courageous] perhaps intended for

19, 20. sixpence a-day] " Shakespeare “ encouraging.”
has already ridiculed the title-page of 28. / am to discourse] Of. Two
Cambyses, by Thomas Preston; and Gentlemen , in, i. 59, “I am to break
here he seems to allude to him, or some with thee of some affairs ” ; Mer-
other person who, like him, had been chant of Venice , 1. i. % U 1 am to
pensioned for his dramatic abilities, learn.”

9

130 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [act nr.

f

me not what; for, if I tell you, I am no true
Athenian. I will tell you everything, right as it 30
fell out

Quin . Let us hear, sweet Bottom.

Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is,
that the duke hath dined. Get your apparel
together; good strings to your beards, new 35
ribbons to your pumps ; meet presently at the
palace; every man look o’er his part; for the
short and the long is, our play is preferred. In
any case, let Thisby have clean linen ; and let
not him that plays the lion pare his nails, for they 40
shall hang out for the lion’s claws. And, most
dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlic, for we are
to utter sweet breath ; and I do not doubt but to
hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more
words; away! go, away ! {Exeunt. 45

29. no] Ff, not Qq. 30. right Qq, omitted Ff. 33. Ait that] a// Rowe.
38. p 7 'ef erred] proffered Theobald conj. 43. doubt but] Qq, F i? 2 ; doubt
F 3, 4. 45. go, away t]go , away. Theobald ; go away. Qq, Ff. [Exeunt] Ff,

omitted Qq.

35. strings] as Malone says, “to
prevent the false beards, which they
were to wear, from falling off.”

38. prefewed] offered for accept-
ance, “proffered,” in fact, and included
in the “brief” of Philostrate. See
v. i. 42, post ; but not necessarily or
finally accepted for representation.
Theobald says: “This word is not to
be understood in its most common
acceptation here, as if their play was

chosen in preference to the others (for
that appears afterwards not to be the
fact); but means that it was given in
among others for the Duke’s option.
So, in Julius Ccesar , in. i. 27, 28,
Decius says :

“Where is Metellus Cimber? Let
him go,

And presently prefer his suit to
Caesar.”

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 131

ACT*V

SCENE I. — Athens . The Palace of Theseus .

Enter THESEUS, HlPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Z<w*,

A ttendants .

Hip. ’Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers speak of.
The . More strange than true : I never may believe
These antique fables, nor these fairy toys.

Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,

Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend 5

More than cool reason ever comprehends.

The lunatic, the lover and the poet,

Are of imagination all compact ;

One sees more devils than vast hell can hold ;

That is the madman : the lover, all as frantic, I o

Act V. Scene /,] Rowe ; Actus Quintus Ff ; omitted Qq. Athens. The Palace
of Theseus.] The Palace Theobald; The Same. A State-Room in Theseus’s
Palace Capell. Enter , . .] The stage-direction in the Ff is : “ Enter
Theseus, Hippolita, Egeus and his Lords,” and the speeches of Philostrate are
assigned to Egeus, with the sole exception of 77-81. The direction in the
Qq is : * 4 Enter Theseus, Hippolita, and Philostrate,” and in line 38 they print
“Philostrate” where the Ff have “Egeus.” See note on line 38, post. 3,
antique ] Q I ; anticke Q 2, F 1, 2 ; antiek F 3, 4. 5, 6. apprehend More them]

Theobald; apprehend more Then Qq, Ff. 5—8.3 Three lines in Q 1 ending
more . . . lunatick . . . compact. 6. cool] cooler Pope.

4. seething] Note the antithesis to 5, 6.] Cf. The Tempest , v, i. 67, 68,
“cool” in line 6, and cf. Winter's “ the ignorant fumes that mantle Their
Tale , in. iii. 64, “Would any but clearer reason.”

these boiled brains of nineteen and 8. compact ] compacted, composed,
two-and-twenty hunt this weather ? ” See Comedy of Errors, m. ii. 22,
i.e. boiling over in a state of turbu- “compact of credit”; Venus and
lence or ferment (Craig); Tempest , Adonis , 149, “ compact of fire ” ; As
v. 1. 59, “thy brains, Now useless, You Like It , 11. vii, 5, “compact of
boil’d within thy skull,” i.e. brains jars.” Marshall quotes Marlowe’s
with all the intellectual part ex- Dido, Queen of Carthage, n. ii., “A
tracted, incapable of thought (Craig); man compact of craft and perjury.”
and Macbeth,^ 11. i, 39, “the heat- For the form, see also “ create,” 402,
oppressed brain.” and “ consecrate,” 412 in this scene.

f

132 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt : r
The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy 'rolling,

Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to
heaven ;

And, as imagination bodies forth

The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen 1 5

Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.

Such tricks hath strong imagination,

That, if it would but apprehend some joy,

It comprehends some bringer of that joy ; 20

Or, in the night, imagining some fear,

How easy is a bush supposed a bear !

12, 13.] In Q 1 ending glance . . . And as ; in Q 2, F I with glance . . .
heaven. 14-18.] as in Rowe (ed. 2) ; four lines in Qq, Ff, ending things
. . . shapes . . . habitation . . . imagination. 16. shapes ] shape Pope;
airy ] Q 2 ; ay cry Q I ; aire F I, 3 ; ay-re F 2 ; air F 4. 19. it] he Rowe

(ed. 2). 21. Or] So Hanmer; For Anon. conj. (ap. Cambridge editors).

11. Helen* s beauty] familiar to Eliza-
bethans from the gorgeous lines of
Marlowe, Faust , Scene xiv. :

44 O thou art fairer than the evening
air.

Clad in the beauty of a thousand
stars.”

11. brow of Egypt] i.e. “brow of a
gypsy.” Steevens.

12. frenzy] Drayton’s fine lines on
Marlowe (. Epistle to Reynolds) are well
known ;

“And that fine madness still he did
retain

Which rightly should possess the
poet’s brain.”

16. shapes] I think Pope’s change to
the singular is unnecessary. Cf. Love's
Labour's Lost , iv. ii. 69, “A foolish
extravagant spirit, full of forms, figures,
shapes, objects, ideas”; and Twelfth
Night I. L 14:

4 4 So full of shapes is fancy.

That it alone is high fantastical.”

21, 22.] Grant White (ed. 1} asks,

44 Would Shakespeare, after thus reach-
ing the climax of his thought, fall a-
twaddling about bushes and bears?”
and he cannot even bring himself to
doubt that these lines are interpolated.
The explanation of the Co wden- Clarkes
is, perhaps, as satisfactory as can be
given, assuming the reading 44 Or” is
correct: 44 This concluding couplet,
superficially considered, has an odd,
bald, flat effect, as of an anti-climax,
after the magnificent diction in the
previous lines of the speech ; but
viewed dramatically they serve to give
character and naturalness to the dia-
logue. The speaker is carried away by
the impulse of his thought and nature
of his subject into lofty expression,
ranging somewhat apart from the
matter in hand ; then, feeling this, he
brings back the conversation to the
point of last night’s visions and the
lovers’ related adventures by the two
lines in question.”

i f

{

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 133

i J

I Hip . But ali the story of the night told over,

j And all their minds transfigured so together,

More witnesseth than fancy's images,

; And grows to something of great constancy ;

j But, howsoever, strange and admirable.

The. Here come the lovers, full of joy and mirth.

Enter Lysander, DEMETRIUS, Hermia, and HELENA.

- Joy, gentle friends 1 joy, and fresh days of love,
Accompany your hearts !

Lys. More than to us 30

Wait on your royal walks, your board, your bed !

The . Come now ; what masques, what dances shall we have,
To wear away this long age of three hours,

Between our after-supper and bed-time?

27. But,] Be* t Hanmer. 28. Enter . . .] Enter Louers; Lysander . . .
Qq, Ff (after 27). 29. days of love] F 2, 3, 4; days Of lone Qq, F I. 30,

31. More . . . bed i] prose Qq, F I ; verse F 2, 3, 4. 31. Wait on] Wait in

Rowe. 33, 34.] as in Q 2, ending betweene . . . manager Q 1. 34. our ]

Ff, or Qq.

25. fancy's images] Cf. the “ un-
settled fancy” of The Tempest , V. i.
59 *

26. constancy] consistency, stability,
certainty. Johnson.

2 7. admirable] in the earlier sense
of “ wonderful,” “ marvellous.” Cf.
* e Admired Miranda!” Tempest , in.
*• 3 7 -

34. after-supper] These words are
not connected with a hyphen, either in
the Qq or Ff. Nor by Cotgrave, who
has: “ Regoubillonner. To make a
reare supper , steale an after supper D
Cf. Richard III. iv. iii. 31, “ Come
to me, Tyrrel, soon at after supper.”
“The rers-supperf says Staunton,
“was to the supper itself what the
rej'e-banquet was to the dinner — a
dessert. On ordinary occasions the
gentlemen of Shakespeare’s age appear

to have dined about eleven o’clock, and
then to have retired either to a garden-
house or other suitable apartment and
enjoyed their rere banquet or dessert.
Supper was usually served between five
and six ; and this, like the dinner, was
frequently followed by a collation con-
sisting of fruits and sweatmeats, called,
in the country, the r ere- supper ; in
Italy, Pocenio, from the Latin Po-
ccenium. ” Marshall says: “ There is
little doubt that the two words were
not meant to express simply e the time
after supper/ as Schmidt explains
them ; but the banquet or dessert taken
after supper in another room, and
called rere - supper or rear -supper.
Harrison mentions this supplementary
meal in his Description of England ,
Book ii. ch. vi. : 4 Heretofore there
hath beene much more time spent in

134 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actv.

Where is our usual manager of mirth? r 35

What revels are in hand ? Is there no play,

To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?

Call Philostrate.

Phil. Here, mighty Theseus.

The. Say, what abridgement have you for this evening ?
What masque ? what music ? How shall we beguile 40
The lazy time, if not with some delight ?

Phil. There is a brief how many sports are ripe :

Make choice of which your highness will see first.

[i Giving a paper.

The. [Reads.] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung

37, 38. To . . . Philostrate ] one line Q 1. 38. Philostrate Qq, Egeus Ff.

38, 42, 61. Phil.] Qq, Ege. Ff. 42. ripe] Q 1 ; rife Q 2, Ff. 43. [Giving
a paper.] Theobald. 44. The, [Reads] Theobald, The. Q I, Thes. Q 2, Lis.
Ff ; Centaurs ] Centaur F 4.

eating and drinking than commonlie is 439, “look, where my abridgement
in these daies, for whereas of old we comes ” (where, of course, the word is
had breakefasts in the forenoone, bever- used in a double sense) ; and II. ii. 548,
ages or nuntions after dinner, and “ the abstract and brief chronicles of
thereto rears suppers generalise when it the time.”

was time to go to rest (a toie brought 42. brief] short account, abstract,
into England by hardie CanutusP ” CL Antony and Cleopatra. , v. ii. 138,
Craig quotes Christopher Langton, “ This is the brief of money, plate, and
Introduction to Pkisycke ( 1 550) , p. S$b : j ewels. ”

“ Senec writeth that Asinius would not 44. The. [Reads] “What has Lysander
at after-supper so much as unseale a to do in the affair?” says Theobald,
letter that he might go to bed with a “Fie is no courtier of Theseus's, but

f uiet mynde”; and he compares “ after- only an occasional guest, and just come
inner ” in Troilus and Cressida } n. out of the woods, so not likely to know
ill. 121, “an after-dinner’s breath,” what sports were in preparation.” I
meaning a part of the day after dinner have taken the old Qq for my guides,
devoted to recreation. Theseus reads the titles of the sports

38. Philostrate] Egeus here in the out of the list, and then alternately
F, but Philostrate in line 76, post, makes his remarks upon them. Knight,
The error perhaps arose from one actor Halliwell, Marshall, and Furness prefer
doubling the parts of Egeus and the arrangement in the Ff, Marshall
Philostrate ; another proof, as Furness thinking it “much more effective- as far
points out, that the F was printed from as the stage requirements are con-
a prompters copy. cerned.” The probability, I think,

39. abridgement ] amusement, pas- is that Shakespeare originally made
time, diversion ; that which makes the Theseus both read and comment, as
time seem short. Cf. Hamlet , n, ii. in the Qq, and that this arrangement

t

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 135

By an Athenian eunuch to the harp, 45

We ’ll none of that : that Jiave I told my love, *

In glory of my kinsman Hercules.

[Reads.] The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,

Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.

That is an old device; and it was play’d 50

When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.

[Reads.] The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceased in beggary.

That is some satire, keen and critical,

Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony. 5 5

[Reads.] A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus,

And his love Thisbe ; very tragical mirth.

Merry and tragical ! Tedious and brief !

That is, hot ice and wondrous stained snow.

45. harp .] Harpe ? Q I. 49. rage.} F 4; rage? Qq, F 1, 2, 3. 53.

beggary.} beggery ? Q x. 57. mirth.} mirth ? Qq. 58-60.] prose in Qq,
Ff. 59. ice}/se Q 1 ; and wondrous stained snow} Editor (Cartwright conj.);
and wondrous stra?ige snow Qq, Ff ; and woncProus scorching snow Hanmer ; a
wondrous strange shew Warburton ; and wonderous strange snow Theobald
(ed. 2); and wondrous strange black snow Capell (Upton conj .) ; seething snow
Collier (ed. 2); swarthy snow Dyce, ed. 2 (Staunton conj.) ; staining snow
Nicholson conj. ; flaming snow Joicey ; sable snow Keightley (Bailey conj.) ;
orange (or raven or azure) snow Bailey conj. ; swart snow Kinnear conj. ; and,
wondrous strange l Jet snow Perring conj,

was afterwards altered to suit stage snow} The conjecture of the text, in
requirements, before the printing of the which I have been anticipated by
Folio. _ Cartwright, seems to be the least tin-

44. Centaurs ] See Ovid, Meiam . satisfactory of the many suggested
Book xii. readings in this passage. It is clear

52, 53. The thrice three Muses . . . that there must be an antithesis he-
beggary} See Introduction. tween “strange 55 and “snow” corre-

54. critical} censorious. Of. Othello, sponding to that between “hot” and

11. i. 1 19, “For I am nothing, if not “ice.” Having regard to the latter
critical.” antithesis, and to in. ii. 141, “ That

55. ceremony} apparently here pro- pure congealed white , high Taurus 1

nounced as a trisyllable. See Walker, snow,” it is very probable that the
Crit. Exam. (1859), ii. 73. necessary antithesis to “snow” in

56. Pyramus} See Golding’s trans- Shakespeare’s mind had reference to

lation of the story, Appendix. its colour and not to its coldness.

59. hot ice and wondrous stained There are two readings which do least

136 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DJQLEAM [actv.

How shall we find the concord of this discord, 60
Phih A play there is, my lo^d, somerten words long,

Which is as brief as I have known a play ;

But by ten words, my lord, it is too long,

Which makes it tedious ; for in all the play

There is not one word apt, one player fitted : 65

And tragical, my noble lord, it is ;

For Pyramus therein doth kill himself.

Which, when I saw rehearsed, I must confess,

Made mine eyes water ; but more merry tears
The passion of loud laughter never shed. 70

61. there zVj it is Hanmer, this is Collier (ed. 2). 66-70.] in Qq, F i

ending Pyramus , . . . saw . . . water . . . laughter . . . shed. 68. saw]
saw H Hanmer.

violence to the trace of the letters in the
word “ strange ” of the old texts, and
both of which give excellent sense,
namely, “stained” and “orange” (cf.
“ftrange” with “orange” and
“ ftained ”), “ stained ” being the more
comprehensive and “ orange ” the more
specific epithet. Orange, which is
only a variant of red, was familiar
enough to Shakespeare, as we see in
the compound phrase, “ orange-tawny,”
in this play, namely, I. ii. 96, as an
epithet of beard, and nr. i. 129, of the
ousel’s bill. Now it is well known,
and was even observed by the ancients,
that in the Alps, and particularly in
the Polar regions, snow is sometimes
coloured red by the presence of in-
numerable small plants, consisting of
brilliant red globules resting on a
gelatinous mass. The plant is an Alga,
and is known as the Protococcm nivalis .
Red snow was observed in ihe Arctic
expedition under Captain Ross in j8i 8
(see his narrative, 1819k extending
along the cliffs on the shore of Baffin’s
Bay for eight miles, the red colour
extending to a depth of 12 feet. If
Shakespeare, as is probable enough,
had read an account of this phenomenon

in any of the descriptions of the old
Arctic voyagers, he would have been
quick to utilise it, and hence it is no
extravagant assumption to imagine that
he might have written either “stained”
or “ orange ” as an epithet of snow,
signifying “colour,” without exactly
defining it. Up to the present, how-
ever, no reference that I am aware of
has been made to any passage of this
kind in the old narratives. In defence
of the Qq, Ff reading, Steevens thought
the meaning to be “hot ice and snow
of as strange a quality”; Knight
remarked, “Surely snow is a common
thing, and therefore c wondrous strange ’
is sufficiently antithetical — hot ice and
snow as strange”; and the Cowden-
Clarkes were of opinion that “strange”
in the sense of “anomalous,” “un-
natural,” “ prodigious,” presents a suffi-
cient image of contrast in itself, and they
refer to its use in line 27 of this scene.
But these arguments seem to me weak
and inconclusive. And it by no means
follows that the phrase “wondrous
strange”is correct in this passage be-
cause Shakespeare uses it in 8 Henry
FA n. i. 33, and Hamlet , 1. y.
164.

■t

f sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 137

l ■

! The . What %re they that do play it, Philostrate ?

[ * . Phil Hard-handed m <3n, that work in Athens here, •

Which never labour'd in their minds till now ;

And now have toil'd their unbreathed memories
With this same play, against your nuptial.

The . And we will hear it
Phil No, my noble lord,

It is not for you : I have heard it over,

- And it is nothing, nothing in the world ;

Unless you can find sport in their intents,

Extremely stretch'd, and conn'd with cruel pain.

To do you service.

The . I will hear that play ;

For never anything can be amiss,

When simpleness and duty tender it

71. that do play it, Philostrate?] Editor; that do play it? Qq, Ff. 75.
nuptial] Qq, F 1 ; nuptialls F 2, 3, 4. 76, 77.] as in Rowe {ed. 2) ; Qq, Ff

ending heare it . . . heard. 76-80.] Daniel arranges : No, my . . . for you.
Unless . . . intents To do you service. I have heard it o'er. Audit . . . world,
Extremely . . . pain. 79.] a parenthesis (Douce) ; a line lost after this
(Johnson). 81, 82. I . . . thing ] as in Rowe (ed. 2) ; one line Qq, Ff.

71. that do play it, Philostrate?] for the object of endeavour, by a licence
Clearly something has dropped out of which other writers than Shakespeare
this line. We may either supply have assumed.” R. G. White (ed. 1).
“Philostrate?” as in the text, or read 81-83.] Marshall well remarks:
“that do play it? Phil. My noble “ Although Shakespeare ridicules those
lord ^Tfard-handed men,” etc., if we entertainments and interludes, which
lull in with Schmidt’s sneer as to the were presented by the rustic amateurs
“ blunt answer which no Englishman before great people, yet he, at the same
would think of giving to a prince.” time, furnishes the best and most
74* # unbreathed'] unexercised, un- generous defence of them ; and teaches
practised. Steevens. _ us how such simple-minded, if ridiculous,

75. nuptial] The singular form is efforts should be treated by all persons
universal in Shakespeare, with possible of good breeding.” Cf. Love's Labour's
exceptions in Othello, II. ii. 9, where Lost, v. ii. 516 sqq., “That sport best
the Qq have the plural ; and Pericles, pleases that doth least know how,”
v. iii. 80 (if Shakespeare be responsible etc. ; and Ben Jonson, Cynthia's
for the latter passage, and in my opinion Revels , v. iii. :

he certainly is not). _ “ Nothing which duty and desire to

79. intents] “ Intents' here, as the please,

subject of the two verbs, ‘ stretch’d 5 and Bears written in the forehead, comes

4 conn’d/ is used both for endeavour and amiss.”

75

80

MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actv.

<r

138

Go, bring them In; and take your places,- ladies.
e r ° \Exit P kilos trater

PI ip. I love not to see wretchedness o’ercharged, 85

And duty in his service perishing.

The . Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing.

Hip . He says, they can do nothing in this kind.

The . The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.

Our sport shall be to take what they mistake : 90

And what poor simple duty cannot do,

Noble respect takes it in might, not merit.

Where I have come, great clerks have purposed

84 [Exit. . .] Pope; omitted Qq, Ff. 91. poor simple duty] Editor (Cart-
wright conj.) ; poor fearful duty Editor conj. ; poor duty Qq, Ff ; poor willing
ditty Theobald ; poor duty meaning Spedding conj. ; poor faltering duty Keightley ;
do] do aright Seymour conj. ; do, yet would Coleridge conj. ; aptly do Bailey
conj. ; do, but would Abbott conj. ; ca 7 imt do] would, but cannot do Halliwell,
92. Noble respect takes] Theobald. 91, 92. noble respect Takes Qq, Ff. 92.

it in might , not merit] not in might , but merit Johnson conj. ; it in merit,
not in might Seymour conj. ; it in mind, not merit Spedding conj.

91,92. And what . . . merit] i.e. ferent epithets in these two parts. In the
when “simpleness 51 and “ duty 55 strive first part it is qualified with the idea of
and are unable to perform, the noble “simpleness. 5 ’ Shakespeare starts with
mind [cf. Hamlet, in. i. 100] looks at this idea in line 83, and he winds up
the effort and not at the merit of the with the same idea in line 104. Lines
performance. The text of the Folio 93-103 (the key to which is “ fearful
clearly shows that the rhythm of the duty 55 in line 101) suggest the idea of
lines was lost in the mind of the com- duty accompanied by fear, not “simple-
positor ; the result being the omission ness. 55 Our choice therefore for a
of a second adjective before “duty. 55 missing epithet in line 92 must lie
And the evidence of this appears, I between these two qualifying words
think, from the tenor of the whole “simple” and “fearful’ 5 ; and I think
passage. See, in especial, lines 83, the balance inclines to “simple,” on
“ simpleness and duty ” ; 86, “ duty 55 ; the ground that Shakespeare begins and
101, “fearful duty 55 ; 104, “ love 55 and ends with that idea, namely, of “simple-
( simplicity.” The two adjectives which ness 55 ; and consequently that Cart-
in my opinion best fulfil all the condi- wright 5 s reading is entitled to acceptance
tions requisite to satisfy rhythm and over any yet proposed,
meaning are “simple 55 and “fearful 55 ; 93-103.] These lines may have been
the balance of probability delicately suggested to Shakespeare by some of
inclining to either. The whole passage the elaborate addresses received by
81-105 naturally divides itself into two Elizabeth during her royal progresses,
parts, namely, 81-92 and 93-103, ending and particularly by what happened at
with the conclusion in lines 104, 105; Warwick in 1 572, where the recorder
and “ duty” is, I think, qualified by dif- was so confused as to be unable to pro-

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 139

, To grept me with premeditated welcomes ;

Where I have seen them shiver and look pale, • 95

Make periods in the midst of sentences,

Throttle their practised accent in their fears,

And, in conclusion, dumbly have broke off,

Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, sweet,

Out of this silence yet I pick’d a welcome; 100

And in the modesty of fearful duty
- I read as much as from the rattling tongue
Of saucy and audacious eloquence.

Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity,

In least, speak most, to my capacity. 105

Re-enter Philostrate.

Phil. So please your grace, the prologue is addres’d.

The. Let him approach. [ Flourish of trumpets.

Enter Quince for the Prologue.

Pro. If we offend, it is with our good-will.

That you should think, we come not to offend,

95. Where] When Hanmer. 105. Re-enter . . .] Capeli; Enter . . .
Pope (ed. 2); Enter Philomon Pope (ed. 1) ; omitted Qq, Ff. 106. Phil.]
Qq, Egeus. Ff. 107. [Flourish of trumpets] Flor. Trum. Ff, omitted Qq.
108. Scene II.] Pope. Enter Quince for the Prologue] Rowe ; Enter the Prologue
Qq ; Enter the Prologue Quince F 1, 2 ; Enter Prologue Quince F 3, 4.

ceed with the address. See Nicholls,
Progresses of Elizabeth, i. 315. Cf.
Pericles , V. Prol. 5, “ Deep clerks she
dumbs.”

98. have] understand “ they.”

106. addres'd] ready, prepared, as in
several passages in Shakespeare.

107. Flourish of trumpets] It appears
from DekkePs Guls Hornbook , 1609
(ed. Grosart, ch. vi. p. 350), that the
prologue was anciently ushered in by
trumpets. “ Present not your selfe on
the Stage (especially at a new play)

vntill the quaking prologue hath (by
rubbing) got culor into his cheekes, and
is ready to give the trumpets their Cue,
that hees vpon point to enter.” It will
be remembered that young gallants sat
on three - footed stools on the stage
itself.

107. Enter Quince for the Prologue]
f* The person who spoke the prologue,
who entered immediately after the third
sounding, usually' wore a long black
velvet' cloak, which, I suppose, was
best suited to a supplicatory address.

140 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actv.

But with good- will. To show our simple ^skill, xio

r That is the true beginning of our end.

Consider, then, we come but in despite.

We do not come, as minding to content you,

Our true intent is. All for your delight,

We are not here. That you should here repent
you, 115

The actors are at hand ; and, by their show,

You shall know all, that you are like to know.

The . This fellow doth not stand upon points.

Lys . He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt; he

knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: it 120
is not enough to speak, but to speak true.

Hip . Indeed he hath played on his prologue, like a
child on a recorder ; a sound, but not in govern-
ment.

1 14. is. Alt] is all Pope. 115. here, Thai] here that Pope. 118.

points ] his points Collier (ed. 2). 120. A good] Dem. A good Cambridge editors
conj. 122. his ] Ff, this Qq. 123. a recorder] Qq, F I ; the recorder F 2,
3 , 4 .

Of this custom, whatever may have
been its origin, some traces remained
until very lately ; a black coat having
been, if I mistake not, within those few
years, the constant stage-habiliment of
our modem prologue-speakers. The
complete dress of the ancient prologue-
speaker is still retained in the play ex-
hibited in Hamlet , before the King and
Court of Denmark. ” Malone, Hist.

Eng. Stage , Var., 1821, vol. iii. p. 115.

108-117.] There is a similar instance
of the ingenious perversion of sense by
mispunctuation in Nicholas UdalFs
Ralph Roister Holster , 1566, III. ii.,
where Ralph’s letter to Dame Custance,
as read by Matthew Merrygreek, begins :

u Sweete mistresse, where as I love
you nothing at all,

Regarding your substance and
richesse chiefe of all,” etc.

1 18. stand upon] CL Julius Casar,
nr. i. 100, “’tis but the time, And draw-
ing days out, that men stand upon.”

120. the stop] a term in horsemanship,
indicating that the horse was thrown
upon its haunches. See Madden, Diary
of Master William Silence (1897), p.
298 ; and cf. Cymbeline , v. iii. 40,
“Then began a stop f the chaser, a
retire.” Cf. also A Lover's Complaint ,
109, “ what rounds, what bounds, what
course, what stop he makes ! ”

123. recorder] a kind of flute or flage-
olet. Cf. Hamlet , nr. ii. 360. Chap-
pell, Popular Music of the Olden Time ,
246, says: “Old English musical in-
struments were made of three or four
different sizes, so that a player might
take any of the four parts that were
required to fill up the harmony . . ,
Shakespeare speaks in Hamlet of the

*

sc. I.] MIDSJJMMER-NXGHT8 DREAM 141

Th^ His speech was like a tangled chain ; nothing 125
impaired, but all disordered. Who is next? #

Enter Pyramus and Thisbe, Wall, Moonshine,
andlAO^.

Pro . Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show ;

But wonder on, till truth make all things plain.

This man is Pyramus, if you would know ;

This beauteous lady Thisby is, certain. 130

This man, with lime and rough-cast, doth present
Wall, that vile wall which did these lovers sunder :
And through wall’s chink, poor souls, they are content
To whisper: at the which let no man wonder.

This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn, 1 3 5
Presenteth moonshine ; for, if you will know,

By moonshine did these lovers think no scorn
To meet at Ninas’ tomb, there, there to woo.

126. next] Qq, Fi; the next F 2, 3, 4. Tawyer with a trumpet before them Ff.
Enter . . Enter . . . as in dumb Show Capell. 131. time] loam Hudson
(Capell conj. MS.). 132. that] Qq, F 1; the F 2, 3, 4. 135. lanthorn]

lanteme Q X.

recorder as a little pipe, and (in the
Midsummer-Night's Dream says) like
a child on a recorder, but in an en-
graving of the instrument it reaches
from the lip to the knee of the per-
former. Salter describes the c recorder, 9
from which the instrument derives its
name, as situate in the upper part of it,
i.e. between the hole below the mouth
and the highest hole for the finger.”

123, 124. government] control. Cf.
Hamlet , in. ii. 372, “ Govern these
ventages with your fingers and thumb.”

126.3 “Tawyer ” in the stage-direc-
tion of the Folios is “generally under-
stood to be the name of the trumpeter ;
but Collier on the strength of a note in
the corrected Folio ‘Enter Presenter,’

interpreted e Tawyer’ as the name of the
actor who filled the part of Presenter
and introduced the characters of the
play.” Cambridge editors’ note.

130. ' certain ] : “ A most" non vehienf'
word for filling up a line, and at the
same time conveying no meaning.”
Wright. S tee veils thinks, perhaps
rightly, that a burlesque was here in-
tended in its frequent recurrence as a
bungling rhyme in poetry more ancient
than the age of Shakespeare ; and he
gives several quotations from Wynlcyn
de Worde (Var. ed. vol v. 3x8).

135. lanthorn , dog, and busk] Cf.
Caliban in The Tempest , n. ii. 151,
“my mistress show’d me thee, and thy
dog, and thy bush/’

142 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

This grisly beast, which Lion hight by name,

The trusty Thisby, coming firs* by night, 140,

Did scare away, or rather did affright :

And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall ;

Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain.

Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth, and tall,

And finds his trusty Thisby’s mantle slain: 145

Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade,

He bravely broach’d his boiling bloody breast ;

And Thisby, tarrying in mulberry shade,

His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,

139. grisly ] grizy F 1 ; Lion hight by name ] by name Lion hight Theobald,
141. scare] F 3, 4 ; scarre Qq, F I, 2. 142. did fall] let fall Pope. 145.

trusty ] Qq ; omitted F 1 ; gentle F 2, 3, 4. 148, And Thisby , tarrying]

Qq, Ff; And, Thisby tarrying Malone ; in] in the F 3, 4.

1 39-141.] “ As all the other parts of
this speech are in alternate rhyme, ex-
cepting that it closes with a couplet ;
and as no rhyme is left to 4 name/ we
must conclude either a verse is sliptout,
which cannot now be retrieved ; or by
a transposition of the words, as I have
placed them, the poet intended a trip-
let T Theobald. Malone conjectures
that a line has been lost after “night/ 3
The Cowden-Clarkes (Shakespeare Key,
p. 674} believe that the defective rhym-
ing was intentional, to denote the slip-
shod style of the doggerel that forms
the dialogue in the interlude, which
they had always cherished a conviction
Shakespeare intended £0 be taken as
written by Peter Quince himself ; and
Furness 4 4 wholly agrees 55 with their
view. I wholly disagree, and wholly
agree with Theobald and Malone that
a verse has “slipt out 55 ; but the loss
can merely be indicated in the text,
without “ any attempt to improve the
language of the rude mechanicals/’

146, 147,] Wright aptly remarks of
the alliteration that “it was an ex-
aggeration of the principle upon which

Anglo-Saxon verse was constructed,*
Cf. 44 the raging rocks, 5 ’ etc., ante, 1. ii.
33, 271 post, and Love’s Labours Lost,
iv. ii. 57 (where Holofernes calls it
“affecting the letter 55 ), “The prey-
ful princess pierced and prick’d a
pretty pleasing pricket, 55 etc. Rushton,
Shakespeare Illustrated, 2nd part, 18 68,
p. 15, referring to the above passages,
quotes Puttenham, The Arte of English
Poesie , lib. hi. cap. 22, 4 4 Ye have
another manner of composing ‘your
metre nothing commendable, specially
if it be too much used, and is when
one maker takes too much delight to fill
his verse with wordes beginning all with
a Utter, as an English rimer that said :

4 The deadly droppes of darke dis-
daine,

Do daily drench my due desartes/

. « . And such like, for such composi-
tion makes the meetre runne away
smoother, and passeth from the lippes
with more facilitie by iteration of a
letter than by alteration, which altera-
tion of a letter requires an exchange of
ministry and office in the Bppes, teeth
on palate, and so doth not the iteration,

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 143

Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain, 150
^ At large discourse while here they do remain. ^

T [, Exeunt Prologue , Pyramus y Thisbe , Lion, and

The . I wonder if the lion be to speak. \_Moonshine m

Dem. No wonder, my lord : one lion may, when many
asses do.

Wall. In this same interlude it doth befall, 155

That I, one Snout by name, present a wall ;

And such a wall, as I would have you think,

That had in it a crannied hole, or chink,

Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby,

Did whisper often very secretly. 1 60

This loam, this rough-cast, and this stone doth show.
That I am that same wall ; the truth is so :

And this the cranny is, right and sinister,

Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.

The. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better? 165
Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard
discourse, my lord.

The. Pyramus draws near the wall : silence !

Re-enter PYRAMUS.

Pyr. O grim -look'd night ! O night with hue so black !

O night, which ever art, when day is not ! 1 70

151. [Exeunt . . .] Exit Lyon, Thysby, and Mooneshine Qq (after 154) ;
Exit all but the Wall Ff (repeating direction of Qq). 156. Snout] Ff, Flute Qq.
158. crannied ] cranny Collier conj. 159. Pyramus] Pyr’mus Theobald;
Thisby] This-be Theobald. i6x. loam] F 3, 4 ; tome Qq ; loame F I, 2 ;
lime Reed (Capell conj.). 167. discourse] in discourse Farmer conj. 168,
186. Re-enter . . .] Wright ; Enter . . , Qq, Ff.

158. crannied] See 163, post. “ whisper ” in the next line. It is

163. cranny] See Golding’s Ovid> accented on the penultimate, as in
Metam. Book iv., “The wall that parted Henry 'V. n. iv. 85, Troilus , iv. v.
house from house had riuen therein a 128, and, I think, in every other pas-
4 crany . 9,9 sage, prose and verse, where it occurs.

163 . sinister] an assonance with 169. grim-look 7 d\ grim-looking, per-

144 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

O night, O night ! alack, alack, alack,

I fear my Thisby’s promise jis forgot ! r
And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall,

That stand’st between her father’s ground and
mine !

Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall, 175
Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne.

[ Wall holds up his fingers .
Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for
this !

But what see I ? No Thisby do I see.

O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss !

Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me ! 1 80

The . The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse
again.

Pyr . No, in truth, sir, he should not. “Deceiving
me,” is Thisby’s cue: she is to enter now, and I
am to spy her through the wall. You shall see 185
it will fall pat as I told you. Yonder she comes.

Re-enter THISBE.

This. O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans.

For parting my fair Pyramus and me !

My cherry lips have often kiss’d thy stones ;

Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee. 190

173. O sweet, 0 ] Qq, thou sweet and Ff, 0 sweet and Pope. 176. Wall
, . . fingers] Capell. 183-186.] four lines in Qq, Ff. 184. now~\ omitted
Ff. 186. it will fall pat . . . comes. Re-enter Thisbe] it will fall . . . comes .
Enter T. Qq ; it will fall. Enter Thisbie. Pat ... comes Ff. 190. hair]
hay ire Q I ; up in thee] Ff, now againe Qq.

haps ; an example of an indefinite and 190. knit up ] In The Tempest , m.
apparently not passive use of a passive hi. 89, of Prospered enemies, “all knit
participle. See Abbott, § 374. up in their distractions.”

sc. X.] MIDSJJMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 145

/w I see a voice : now will I to the chink,

To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face, #
Thisby !

This. My love thou art, my love I think.

Pyr. Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace, 195
And like Limander am I trusty still.

This. And I like Helen, till the Fates me kill.

Pyr . Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true.

This. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you.

Pyr , O, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall. 200
This , I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all.

Pyr. Wilt thou at Ninny’s tomb meet me straightway ?
This . 'Tide life, 'tide death, I come without delay.

[. Exeunt Pyramus and Thisbe.
Wall . Thus have I, wall, my part discharged so ;

And, being done, thus wall away doth go, \Exit. 205
The . Now is the mure all down between the two neigh-
bours.

191. see] J Qq, F x ; heare F 2, 3, 4. 192, 193. To spy ... Thisbyt] one

line Qq, Ff. 192. an] Pope ; and Qq, Ff ; hear] Qq, F 1; see F 2, 3, 4.
194. love thou art \ my love ] Qq, Ff ; love ! thou art, my love, Theobald. 197.
/] Qq, F 2; omitted F 1, 3, 4. 200. vile] vilde Q 1. 203. [Exeunt P. and

T.] Dyce. 205. [Exit] Exit Clow. Ff; omitted Qq ; Exeunt Wall, P. and

T. Capell. 206. mure all] Hanmer (Theobald conj.), Moon vsed Qq, morall

Ff, mural Pope (ed. 2), wall Collier conj.

196-199. Limander, etc.] “Liman- Theobald ( Shakespeare Test. p. 142)
der and Helen are spoken by the says: “I am apt to think the poet wrote
blundering player for Leander and ‘Now is the mure all down/ and

Hero ; Shafalus and Procrus, for then Demetrius’s reply is apposite

Cephalus and Procris.” Johnson, enough.” “Mure,” meaning wall,
“ Procris and Cephalus, by Henry occurs in 2 Hemy IV. iv. iv. 119, but
Chute, was entered on the Stationers’ “mural” is not found in Shakespeare.
Registers by John Wolff in 1593, and R. G. White (ed. 1} says: “‘Mural’
probably published in the same year, for ‘ wall ’ is an anomally in English,
It was a poem, but not dramatic, as and is too infelicitous to be regarded as
has been suggested.” Malone. It had one of Shakespeare’s daring feats of
almost certainly been read by Shake- language . . . Shakespeare evidently
s P eaJ 5 * yri 0 _ thought that it would be plainer if the

206. mure all] See Text, notes, wall were represented both as the re-

r

146 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM [actv.

Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful ^
to hear without warning. ^

Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. 210

The . The best in this kind are but shadows : and the
worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.

Hip . It must be your imagination, then, and not
theirs.

The . If we imagine no worse of them than they of 215
themselves, they may pass for excellent men. „
Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a lion.

Re-enter Lion and MOONSHINE.

Lion . You ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear

The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now, perchance, both quake and tremble here, 220
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar.

209. hear] rear Hanmer (Warburton), sheer Hanmer conj. MS. 210, 213.
Hip.] Dutch or Dut. Qq, Ff. 210. ever] Q 1 ; ere Q 2, Ff. 217. come]
Qq ; coin F 1 ; comes F 2, 3, 4 ; beasts z>z, a man] Rowe (ed. 2} ; beasts , in a
man Qq, Ff; beasts in a moon Theobald ; beasts in, a moon Hanmer. 217.
Re-enter . , .] Wright; Enter Qq, Ff.

straint upon the passions of the lovers A c wall ’ between almost any ‘two
and as a pander to them, and so he neighbours’ would soon be ‘down,’
changed ‘moon used’ to ‘moral down.’ were it to exercise this faculty without
He did this, I believe, with the more previous ‘ warning.’ ” Farmer. Frob-
surety of attaining his point, because ably.

‘moral’ was then pronounced ‘mo-ral,’ 217. a man] Theseus only means to
and ‘mural,’ as I am inclined to think, say that the “man” who represented
‘ moo-raL’ ” I am inclined to think the moon, and came in at the same
with Furness that “in the old pro- time, with a lanthorn in his hand and a
nunciation lay a pun, now lost, and for bush of thorns at his back, was as much a
a pun, as Johnson said, Shakespeare beast as he who performed the part of the
would lose the world, and be content Hon. Malone. Wright preferred (1877)
to lose it.” Marshall suggests that the punctuation of the Qq, Ff. He
there may have been a proverbial ex- then considered that “in” here signifies
pression “the wall is down between “in the character of,” as in iv. ii. 24,
the neighbours,” meaning “ the cause of “sixpence a-day in Pyramus, or no-
difference between them is at an end.” thing.” In the Cambridge edition
209 * to hear] “Demetrius’s reply (1891) he adopts the punctuation of
alludes to the proverb ‘ walls have ears.’ Rowe.

sc. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM U7

Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am
No lion fell, nor^lse no lion's dam : #

For if I should as lion come in strife

Into this place, 'twere pity on my life. 225

The , . A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.

Dem . The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er
I saw.

Lys. This lion is a very fox for his valour.

The . True; and a goose for his discretion. 230

Dem . Not so, my lord : for his valour cannot carry
his discretion ; and the fox carries the goose.

The, His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his
valour ; for the goose carries not the fox. It is
well: leave it to his discretion, and let us listen 235
to the moon.

Moon . This lanthorn doth the horned moon present.

Dem , . He should have worn the horns on his head.

222, 223. / . . . dam] I am Snug the joiner in A lion-fell , or else a lion's
skin Daniel conj. 222. one] Ff, as Qq. 223. No lion felt] Rowe, Capell ;
A Lyon fell Qq, Ff ; A lion fell Singer (ed. 2) ; A lion’s fell Dyce (ed. 1) (Field
conj.); else] eke Capell. 225. on] Qq, of Ff. 235. listen] Q 1; hearken
Q 2, Ff. 238. on] upon Hanmer.

223. No lion felt] Rowe’s reading
is, after all, to be preferred. As Mar-
shall well remarks, the “ no ” before
“ lion’s dam 55 seems to point to “no”
and not “a ” as the right reading ; and
Snug has already used “rough” or an
epithet of lion in line 225, and of this
“fell” seems merely a variant. See
also the “lion vile” of Pyramus, 297,
post. For the negative construction
we may compare Julius Cczsar, in. i.
90, “There is no harm intended to
your person, Nor to no Roman else.”
No doubt Shakespeare intended a
quibble between fell “skin” and fell
“ fierce.” Craig, adhering to the read-
ing of the Qq, Ff, prefers to take “ fell ”

in the sense of “ skin,” or “skin with
the wool on”; and reminds us that
England sent wool-fells to Flanders in
Edward in.’s reign.

237. lanthorn] Steevens needlessly
modernised this word into “lantern,”
and has been followed by many of the
best editors, thereby obliterating the
jingle, if there be one, in “This lan-
tkome doth the horned moone pre-
sent.” The Cambridge edition, both
first and second, nicely discriminates
between the pronunciation of Snug and
of Theseus by giving “lanthorn” to
the former and “lantern” to the
latter. Furness. There is no harm in
this.

148 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT S DREAM [actv,

The, He Is no crescent, and his horns are invisible ^
within the circumference «■ 240

Moon . This lanthorn doth the horned moon present ;

Myself the man f the moon do seem to be.

The . This is the greatest error of all the rest: the
man should be put into the lantern. How is it
else the man ? the moon ? 245

Deni. He dares not come there for the candle; for,
you see, it is already in snuff.

Hip . I am aweary of this moon: would he would
change !

The . It appears, by his small light of discretion, that 250
he is in the wane; but yet, in courtesy, in all
reason, we must stay the time.

Lys. Proceed, Moon.

Moon, All that I have to say is, to tell you, that the

lanthorn is the moon ; I, the man i’ the moon ; this 255
thorn-bush, my thorn-bush ; and this dog, my dog.

Dem, Why, all these should be in the lantern ; for
all these are in the moon. But, silence ! here
comes Thisbe.

242. do] Q 2, doe Q i, doth Ff. 244, 257. lantern ] lanthorne Qq, Ff.
248. aweary] Q i ; weary Q 2, Ff. 250. his] this Pope. 255. t the] ith Q 1 ;
in the Q 2, Ff. 257, 258. for all these] Q I ; for they Q 2, Ff.

243. of all] See Abbott, § 409, for the darkening of a light by this deposit,
illustrations of this idiom. He calls it the word snuff came to mean oftence,
“ the confusion of two constructions in anger, as here, and Lords Labours Lost ,
superlatives.” Cf. also in this play, V. ii. 22, “You’ll mar the light bytak-
ry. ii. 9, “the best wit of any handi- ingit in snuff,” and other passages in
craft man in Athens ” ; and in. ii. 337, Shakespeare, e.g, 1 Henry IV, I. in.

4 £ to try whose right, Of thine or mine, 41, and Lear> m. i. 26.

is most in Helena.” 250. small light of discretion] Cf.

247. in snuff] The primary meaning Lords Labour's Lost , v. ii. 734, “I
is of course the deposit which gathers have seen the day of wrong through the
on the wick of a candle, and which has little hole of discretion.”
to be removed for better light. From

SC. I] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 149

' Re-enter JHISBE. ,

This. This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love? 260
Lion. Oh — .

[The Lion roars . This be runs off »

Dem . Well roared, lion.

The . Well run, Thisbe.

Hip. Well shone, Moon. Truly, the moon shines with
" a good grace. 265

[The Lion shakes Thisbe' s mantle , and exit .
The. Well moused, lion.

Lys. And so the lion vanished.

Dem. And then came Pyramus.

Re-enter PYRAMUS.

Pyr. Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams ;

I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright ; 270
For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering gleams,

I trust to take of truest Thisby sight.

260, 268. Re-enter . . .] Wright; Enter. . . Qq, Ff. 260. old. . . tomb ]
ould . . . tumbe Q 1 ; Where is] IV her ’s Q 2. 261.] The Lion roares,

Thisby runs off Ff, omitted Qq. 265. a ] omitted Rowe (ed. 1); [The Lion
. . . exit] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff. 266. moused] mouz'd Qq, Ff ; mouth'd
Rowe. 267, 268.] as transposed by Hudson (Spedding conj.); Dem. And
then . . . vanished Qq, Ff. 271. gleams ] Staunton (Knight conj.) ; beames
Qq, F I ; streams F 2, 3, 4. 272. take] Qq, taste Ff; Thisby] Qq,

Thisbies Ff.

267, 268.3 The suggestion of Sped- in Luerece, 1378, “And dying eyes
ding as to the arrangement of these gleam’d forth their ashy lights.” Fur-
lines is probably warranted by the ness thinks “ beams ” should be “re-
sense. _ tained in the speech of one whose eye

271. gleams] the alliteration obvi- had not heard, nor his ear seen, nor his
ously requires this instead of the read- hand tasted a dream which he had in
ing of the Qq, F 1, or the Ff, even the wood where he had gone to rehearse
though it does not seem to occur else- obscenely ” — reasoning which appears
where in the plays. The verb occurs to be entirely inconclusive.

150 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv

But stay, O spite ! r X

r But mark, poor knight,

What dreadful dole is here! 275

Eyes, do you see ?

How can it be?

O dainty duck ! O dear !

Thy mantle good,

What, stain'd with blood ! 280

Approach, ye Furies fell !

O Fates ! come, come ;

Cut thread and thrum ;

Quail, crush, conclude, and quell !

The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend, 285
would go near to make a man look sad.

Hip . Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man.

Pyr. O, wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame?

Since lion vile hath here deflower'd my dear :

Which is — -no, no — which was the fairest dame 290
That lived, that loved, that liked, that look'd with
cheer.

273-284.] as in Pope ; eight lines Qq, Ff. 278. dear] deare Qq ; Deere
F 1, 2 ; Deer F 3, 4- 281. ye] Qq, you Ff. 285, 286] verse in Ff, ending
friend . . . sad. 289. vile] Pope ; vilde Qq, F 1 ; vild F 2, 3, 4 ; wild
Rowe ; dear ] deare Qq ; deere F 1, 2 ; Deer F 3, 4.

281. Approach , ye Furies] Malone 283. thrum] “The tufted part be-
says : “In these lines and in those yond the tie, at the end of the warp, in
spoken by Thisbe, £ 0 sisters three,’ etc., weaving; or any collection or tuft of
lines 334 sqq., the poet probably in- short thread.” Nares. Cf. “thrum-
tended, as Dr. Farmer observed to me, med hat ” in The Merry Wives , iv. ii.
to ridicule a passage in Damon and 80, a hat made of weaver’s thrums, or
Pythias , by Richard Edwards, 1582 at least of very coarse woollen cloth.

(p, 44, ed. Biazletts Dodsley) : _ 284. quell] kill, murder, usually a verb

* Ye furies , all at once in Shakespeare, but a noun in Macbeth,

On me your torments trie : 1. vii. 72, “ of our great quell.”

Gripe me, you greedy griefs, 285,286. This passion . . . sad] “The

And present pangues of death, humour of the present speech consists

You sisters three , with cruel handes in coupling the ridiculous fustian of the
With steed co?ne stop my breath t ’ 55 clown’s assumed passion with an event

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 15 1

295

[Stabs- himself \

300

Moon, take thy flight ! [Exit Moonshine
Now die, die, die, die, die.” [Dies.

Dem. No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but

one. 3° 5

Lys. Less than an ace, man ; for he is dead ; he is
nothing.

The, With the help of a surgeon, he might yet recover,
and prove an ass.

292-303.] as in Pope ; seven lines in Qq, Ff. 296. [Stabs himself] Dyce;
omitted Qq? Ff. 301. Sun] Sunne Anon. ap. Rann ; Tongue Qq, Ff; lose]
Q 2, Ff ; loose Q 1. 302. [Exit M.] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff . 303. [Dies]
Capell; omitted Qq, Ff. 309. and prove ] Q 2, Ff ; and yet prooue Q 1.

X.

Come, tears, confound ;
Gu|, sword, and wound
The pap of Pyramus ;

Ay, that left pap,

Where heart doth hop :
Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.
Now am I dead,

Now am I fled ;

My soul is in the sky :

Sun, lose thy light !

which would, in itself, make a man
look sad” [i.e. serious]. R. G. White.

294. pap ] “It ought to be remem-
bered that the broad pronunciation, now
almost peculiar to the Scotch, was
anciently current in England. ‘Pap 5
therefore . was sounded ‘pop. 55
Steevens.

301. Sun ] Capell says Bottom’s
“tongue, 55 instead of “sunne 55 or
“sun, 55 is a very choice blunder ; and
Halliwell aptly remarks : “The pre-
sent error of ‘ tongue ’ for ‘ sun * appears
too absurd to be humorous, and it may
well be questioned whether it be not

a misprint. 55 The collocation of the
word, namely, between “sky” and
“moon,’ 5 is certainly in favour of
Halliwell’s view. It is somewhat re-
markable that “ tongue ” occurs in its
proper place in line 340, post, “Tongue,
not a word. 5 ’

304. ace] See the New Eng. Diet.,
s.v. : “As the ace at dice was the
lowest or worst number, ‘ace* was
frequently used forbad luck, misfortune,
loss.” The only other reference in
Shakespeare is in Cymbeline , 11. iii. 3,
“the most coldest [man] that ever
turned up ace.” .

152

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

Hip. How chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe 3 yp
comes back and finds her lover l '

r * ^

The . She will find him by starlight. Here she comes ;
and her passion ends the play.

Re-enter THISBE.

Hip . Methinks she should not use a long one for such

a Pyramus : I hope she will be brief. 315

Dem. A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus,
which Thisbe, is the better ; he for a man, God
warrant us ; she for a woman, God bless us.

Lfs. She hath spied him already with those sweet

eyes. 320

Dem. And thus she means, videlicet : —

This . Asleep, my love ?

What, dead, my dove ?

O Pyramus, arise !

310. Moonshine] the Moonshine F 3, 4. 310, 31 1. before Thisbe . . .

lover?] Rowe; before ? Thisby . . . Louer Qq, Ff. 313. Re-enter . . .]
Dyce; Enter Thisby Ff (after 313) ; omitted Qq. 316. mote] Steevens, 1793
(Heath conj.} ; moth Qq, Ff. 317, 318. he for a man . . . God bless us]
Qq, omitted Ff. 318. warrant] Collier, warnd Qq, warn'd Staunton, ward
Staunton conj. 321. means] Qq, Ff; moans Theobald. 322-345.] as in
Pope ; sixteen lines in Qq, Ff.

3x0. chance] Cf. 1. i. 129. supported by 187, ante , and 332, post.

316. mote] See in. i. 165, Rut Ritson pointed out that “means”

317, 318. he for a man . . . God bless had anciently the same signification as
us] This passage is omitted in the Ff, “ moans,” and that it is a common term
as Collier thinks, on account of the in Scottish law, signifying to “tell,”
Statute 3 Jac. 1. cap. 21, which of “relate,” “declare”; and that the
course had not passed when the Qq petitions to the Lords of Session in Scot-
were printed. This statute imposed a land ran: “To the lords of council
penalty of ten pounds on any player and session humbly means and shows
who should “jestingly or profanely your petitioner,” Cf. Two Gentlemen ,
speak or use the holy name of God.” v. iv. 136, “To make such means for

321. means] Jamieson, Scot. Did . : her as thou hast done.” Craig refers to
“ To Mene,Meane, To utter complaints, Marston, The Fawn, iv. L, “If you
to make lamentations.” Theobald read make good means and entreat hard,
“ moans,” and the change appears to be you may obtain a passage.”

'*1

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM 153

Speak, speak. Quite dumb? 3^5

Dead* dead ? „ A tomb #

Must cover thy sweet eyes.

These lily mows,

This cherry nose,

These yellow cowslip cheeks, 3 3° *

Are gone, are gone :

Lovers, make moan !

His eyes were green as leeks.

O Sisters Three,

Come, come, to me, 335

With hands as pale as milk ;

Lay them in gore,

Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.

326. tomb ] tumbe Q 1. 327. thy] my F 3, 4. 328. mows] Editor ; brows

Theobald ; lips Qq, Ff. 337. Lay] Lave Theobald. 339. Ms] this F 3, 4.

325, 326, 331. Speak , speak . . . “ All Thisby’s lamentation till now runs

Dead, dead . . . Are gone, are gone] “In in regular rhyme and metre. I suspect,
these passages Shakespeare probably therefore, the poet wrote These lilly
uses the underlay or Coocko-spel, thus brows . Now black brows being a beauty,
described by Puttenham : e Ye have an- lilly brows are as ridiculous as a cherry
other sort of repetition when in one verse, nose, green eyes, or cowslip cheeks.” I
or clause of a verse, ye iterate one word think Theobald’s reasoning is sound,
without any intermission, as thus : . . . and that we must adopt a rhyming word,
bemoaning the departure of a dear notwithstanding the protest of Furness,
friend : that 4 4 of all tasks, that of converting the

* The chiefest staffe of mine assured intentional nonsense of this interlude
stay, into sense seems to me the most need-

With no small grief, is gon, is gon less.” The explanation of the change
away/” to “lips” may well be that, although

Rushton, Shakespeare Illustrated , Part the printers of the Qq, Ff understood
ii. (1868), pp. 19, 20. the general sense of the passage, they

328, 329. lily mows . . , cherry nose] failed to grasp the burlesque usage of
“mows,” used of course in burlesque “ mows” { = mouths), and so substituted
fashion for 4 4 lips,” is, admittedly, a some- for it the word which they understood,
what daring emendation. But (*) I 333. green] Cf. Romeo and Juliet,
think it reaches the burlesque level of the in. i. 221, 44 So green, $0 quick, so
passage; and (2) regular rhyme and metre fair an eye.”

are clearly essential. Theobald says : 334. O Sisters Three] See 281, ante.

154 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

Tongue, not a word:

Come, trusty sword ; ^

Come, blade, my breast imbrue :

[Stabs herself.

And farewell, friends ;

Thus Thisby ends :

Adieu, adieu, adieu” [Dies. 345

The. Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.

Dem. Ay, and Wall too.

Bot. [Starting up.] No, I assure you, the wall is down
that parted their fathers. Will it please you to
see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance 350
between two of our company ?

The. No epilogue, I pray you ; for your play needs no
excuse. Never excuse; for when the players are
all dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry,
if he that writ it had played Pyramus, and hanged 355
himself in Thisbe’s garter, it would have been a
fine tragedy : and so it is, truly ; and very not-
ably discharged. But come, your Bergomask : let
your epilogue alone. [A dance .

The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve : 360

342. [Stabs herself] Dyce ; omitted Qq, Ff. 345. [Dies] Dyce. 348.

Bot.] Ff, Lyon. Qq ; [Starting up] Capell. 354. need] be Capell conj.;
Marry] Mary Q 1. 355. hanged] Qq, kungYi. 358. Bergomask] Rowe ;

Burgomaske Qq, F 1,2; Btirgomask F 3, 4. 359. [A dance] A dance and

exeunt clowns Capell ; Here a dance of clowns Rowe ; omitted Qq, Ff,

358, Bergomask] te A dance after the Bergomasco, Hanmer’s explanation is
manner of the peasants of Bergomasco correct.”

{sic), a country in Italy belonging to 360. iron imgite of midnight] Craig
the Venetians. All the buffoons in compares King John, hi. iii. 37 :

Italy affect to imitate the ridiculous 4 e the midnight bell

jargon of that people ; and from thence Did, with his iron tongue and
it became a custom to mimic also their brazen mouth,

manner of dancing.” Hanmer. Wright Sound on into the drowsy race

says: “If we substitute Bergamo for of night.”

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM 155

Lovers^ to bed ; ’tis almost fairy time.

I fear we shall cmtsleep the coming mom, #

As much as we this night have overwatch'd.

This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled

The heavy gait of night Sweet friends, to bed. 365

A fortnight hold we this solemnity,

In nightly revels, and new jollity. [. Exeunt .

Enter PUCK.

Puck . Now the hungry lion roars,

And the wolf behowls the moon ;

Whilst the heavy ploughman snores, 370

All with weary task fordone.

Now the wasted brands do glow,

Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud,

Puts the wretch, that lies in woe,

In remembrance of a shroud. 375

364. palpable-gross] hyphened by Capell. 365. gait] gaite Rowe (ed. 2) ;
gate Q q, Ff. 368. Scene //.] Capell; Scene in. Pope; Enter Puck] Enter
Puck, with a broom on his shoulder Collier (ed. 2) ; lion] Rowe ; Lyons Qq,
Ff. 369. behowls ] Theobald (Warburton) ; beholds Qq, Ff. 371. fordone]
foredoom Q 1 ; fore-done Q 2, Ff. ' 373 * screech-owl] scriech-owle Q I ; scritch-
owle Q2, Ff; screeching] scrieching Q i; scritching Q 2, Ff; schrieking
Johnson.

365. gait] Cf. 11. i. 130, ante, 369. behowls] Warburton’s certain
“with swimming gait”; 413, post; correction, for the “beholds” of the
and Richard II. in. ii. 15, “And Qq, Ff, is. founded on “the wolfs
heavy-gaited toads lie in their way.” characteristic property.” Theobald

368. Now, etc,] Coleridge’s well- compares Marston’s Antonio and
known criticism of this lyric passage Mellida (Part ii.}, nr. in., “Now
is abundantly justified: “Very Anacreon barkes the wolfe against the full cheek t
in perfectness, proportion, grace, and moon,” etc., where the whole passage
spontaneity! So far it is Greek; but seems copied from Shakespeare,
then add, O ! what wealth, what wild Malone compares Spenser’s Faerie
ranging, and yet what compression and Queene,!. v. 37, “And hungry wolves
condensation of English fancy l In continually did howle.”
truth, there is nothing in Anacreon 371 .fordone] overcome. CL limn-
more perfect than these thirty lines, or let , n. ,2. 103, “Love; Whose violent
half so rich and imaginative. They property fordoes itself.”
form a speckless diamond.”

156 MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM

Now it is the time of night,

That the graces, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,

In the church-way paths to glide ;
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate’s team,

From the presence of the sun,

Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic : not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow’d house :

I am sent with broom before,

To sweep the dust behind the door.

Enter OBERON and Titania, with their train .

Obe . Though the house give glimmering light,

By the dead and drowsy fire,

385. hallow" d] Theobald ; hallowed j Qq, Ff. 387. Enter . . .] Enter King
and Queene of Fairies, with all their traine Q I ; Enter . . . with their traine
Q 2, Ff. 388. Though] Grant White ; Through Qq, Ff ; the house give] this
house in Johnson conj., this hall go Lettsom conj., the house gives Kinnear eonj.
389. By] Now Kinnear conj.

376. Now it is , etc.] Cf. Hamlet \ in. sweeping the house at midnight/ Com-
iL 406, “’Tis now the very witching pare also Ben Jonson's masque of Love
time of night.” Restored: ‘Robin Goodfellow, he that

381. triple Hecate's team] “The sweeps the hearth and the house clean,
chariot of the moon was drawn by two riddles for the country-maids, and does
horses, the one black, the other white, all their other drudgery/” Halliwell.
Hecate is uniformly a disyllable in 387. behind the door] Of course this
Shakespeare, except in 1 Henry VI. means to sweep away the dust which
in. ii. 64. In Spenser and Ben Jonson lies behind the door; not, as Farmer
it is rightly a trisyllable. But Marlowe, thought, to sweep it behind, “a com-
though a scholar, and Middleton use it mon practice in large houses, where the
as a disyllable, and Golding has it both doors of halls and galleries are thrown
ways.” Douce. backward, and seldom or never shut.”

386. broom] “Robin Goodfellow, 388. Though ] I think this, the
and the fairies generally, were remark- reading of Grant White, must be
able for their cleanliness. Reginald accepted. He says : “ Plainly, Oberon
Scot says thus of Puck: ‘Your does not intend to command his sprites
grandames, maid,^ were wont to set a to give glimmering light through the
boll of milk for him, for (his pains in) house by the dead and drowsy fire , but
grinding of malt or mustard, and to direct every elf and fairy sprite to

[act v.

380

385

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 157

. ■ ■ ■ " »

"V. t Every elf and fairy sprite, 39 ®

Hop as light as bird from brier ;

' And this ditty, after me, *

Sing, and dance it trippingly.

Ttia. First, rehearse your song by rote ;

To each word a warbling note : 3 95

Hand in hand, with fairy grace,

Will we sing, and bless this place.

[Song and dance .

Obe . Now, until the break of day,

Through this house each fairy stray.

To the best bride-bed will we, 400

Which by us shall blessed be ;

394. your] Q I ; this Q 2, Ff. 397. [Song and Dance] Capell. 398-420.]
assigned to Oberon in Qq ; called The Song in Ff and printed in italics ; restored
to Oberon by Johnson.

hop as light as bird from brier, though
the house give glimmering light by the
dead and drowsy fire.” The merit of
White’s reading is that it restores
sense and meaning to the passage with
the smallest possible change ; and he
has also rightly restored the punctua-
tion of the Qq, Ff after “fire,” which
Capell needlessly altered. “R. G.
White’s emendation, obtained by an
insignificant change, is to me satis-
factory,” says Furness. It is highly
probable that the explanation of the cor-
ruption is owing to the similarity of
the three words, (1) “though/’
(2) “through,” and (3) “thorough,” the
interpolation of an“r” changing a con-
junction into a preposition, and thus
altering the sense of the passage ; and
perhaps also to the fact that the phrase
occurs in 399, infra .

391. as bird from brier ] Steevens
quotes from Minot (ed. Ritson, p. 31),
“ That are was blith als brid on brere.”
The expression was common in the old
poets. Cf Spenser,^ moretti 3 Sonnet 26.

397. Song] « The Song ” F 1. “ The
songs I suppose were lost,” says John-
son, “because they were not inserted
in the players’ parts, from which the
drama was printed.”

401. blessed be] Steevens quotes
Chaucer’s Marchantes Tale (575, ed.
Morris), “ And whan the bed was with
the prest i-blessid,” and also refers to
the “ Articles ordained by King Henry
vn. for the Regulation of his House-
hold,” that this ceremony was observed
at the marriage of a Princess: “All
men at her comming to be voided,
except woemen, till she be brought to
her bedd ; and the man both ; he
sittinge in his bedd in his shirte, with
a gowne cast aboute him. Then the
Bishoppe, with the Chaplaines, to come
in, and blesse the bedd : then everie man
to avoide without any drinke save the
twoe estates, if they liste, priviely,”
Douce says, “Blessing the bed was
observed at all marriages,” and he
gives the form from the Sarum Missal.
See his Illustrations (18 07), p. 124.

158 MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM [actv.

And the Issue there create
Ever shall be fortunate. „

So shall all the couples three

Ever true In loving be; 405

And the blots of nature’s hand

Shall not in their Issue stand ;

Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,

Nor mark prodigious, such as are

Despised in nativity, 440

Shall upon their children be.

With this field-dew consecrate,

Every fairy take his gait ;

And each several chamber bless,

Through this palace with sweet peace ; 415

And the owner of it blest,

Ever shall in safety rest
Trip away ;

Make no stay ;

Meet me all by break of day. 420

[. Exeunt 0 heron, Titania , and tram „

413. gait] Johnson ; gate Qq, Ff. 416, 417.] the transposition of Staunton
(Singer conj.) ; Ever shall . . . blest Qq, Ff ; Ever shall it safely Rowe (ed. 2);
E'er shall it in safety Malone ; Ever shall' t in safety Dyce (ed. 2). 418.

away;] away , then Hanmer. 420. [Exeunt . . .] Capell, Exeunt Qq,
omitted Ff.

402. create ] Cf. ‘‘consecrate, 35 412, Patch’d with foul moles and eye-
post, and Sonnets , Ixxiv. 6 , “The very offending marks. 33

part was consecrate to thee. 33 In 416, 417.] Keightley, Expositor , p.
these forms of the participle “ed” is 137, says: “This is the third or rather
omitted after “t 33 or “d. 33 fourth transposition in this play. We

409. prodigious ] portentous. Cf. may observe that twice before it was
Romeo and Juliet , r. v. 143, “pro- the second line of the couplet that

digious birth of love ” ; and King John , commenced with * Ever 5 ; i,e. ‘ Ever

lit i. 45 : shall be fortunate, 3 ‘Ever true in

“ Full of unpleasing blots and sight- loving be 3 ; the inference of course
less stains, being that it is the second line in this

Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, case also which should so corn-

prodigious, mence/ 1

SC. I.] MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’S DREAM 159

*>Puck If we shadows have offended,

' Tftink but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber’d here,

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme, 42 5

No more yielding but a dream,

Gentles, do not reprehend ;

If you pardon, we will mend.

- And, as I am an honest Puck,

If we have unearned luck 430

Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,

We will make amends ere long ;

Else the Puck a liar call.

So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends, 435

And Robin shall restore amends. {Exit.

424. these] this Q 2. 429. I am ] Pm Capell ; an] omitted F 3, 4. 436.

[Exit] Capell ; omitted Qq, Ff ; Exeunt omnes Rowe.

421. shadows] Cf. 2ir of this scene,
“ The best in this kind are but
shadows,” and the well-known passage
in Macbeth, v. v. 24, “ Life’s but a
walking shadow, a poor player.”
“What the poet ^ had put into the
mouth of one of the characters [Theseus]
in respect of the poor attempts of the
Athenian clowns, he now, by the
repetition of the word shadows in effect
says for himself and his companions.”
Hunter , New Illustrations (1845)4. 298.

429. honest Puck] Furness says
“ honest” here refers merely to his
veracity, as is shown by line 433. The
name occurs in Spenser’s Epithalamion , ,
“Ne let the pouke, nor other evill
sprights,” etc.

431. serpents tongue ] “ If we be dis-
missed without hisses.” Johnson. Cf.
Love's Labour's Lost , v. i. 144, “An
excellent device ! so, if any of the
audience hiss, you may cry, Well done,
Hercules ! now thou crushest the
snake.” Steevens quotes Markham’s
English Arcadia (1607), “But the
nymph, after the custom of distrest
tragedians, whose first act is entertained
with a snaky salutation,” etc.

435. Give me your hands] PI audits.
“Give us your applause. Wild and
fantastical as this play is, all the parts
in their various modes are well written,
and give the kind of pleasure which the
author designed. ” J ohnson.

APPENDIX I

Mr. P. A. Daniel on the Duration of the Action
( Transactions of the New Shakspere Society , 1877-79,
Pt. II. p. 147).

Day 1. — Act I. sc. i. Athens. In the first two speeches the
proposed duration of the action seems pretty clearly set
forth. By [them] I understand that four clear days are to
intervene between the time of this scene and the day of the
wedding. The night of this day No. 1 would, however,
suppose five nights to come between.

Day 2. — Act n., Act III., and part of sc. i. Act IV., are
on the morrow night in the wood, and are occupied with
the adventures of the lovers ; with Oberon, Titania, and
Puck ; the Clowns. Daybreak being at hand, the fairies trip
after the night's shade and leave the lovers and Bottom
asleep.

Day 3. — Act iv. sc. i. continued. Morning. May-day.
Theseus, Hippolyta, etc., enter and awake the lovers with
their hunting-horns.

In Act I. it will be remembered that four days were to
elapse before Theseus's nuptials and Hermia's resolve ; but
here we see the plot is altered, for we are now only in the
second day from the opening scene, and only one clear day
has intervened between day No. 1 and this, the wedding-
day.

Act IV. sc. ii. — Athens. Later in the day.

Act V. — In the Palace. Evening.

162

APPENDIX I

According to the opening speeches of Theseus and
Hippolyta in Act L, we should have expected Che dramatic
action to have comprised five days, exclusive of that Act ; as
it is, we have only three days inclusive of it.

Day i. — Act I.

„ 2. — Acts II., III., and part of sc. i. Act iv.

„ 3. — Part of sc. i. Act IV., sc. ii. Act IV., and Act v.

APPENDIX II

Mr. P. A. Daniel’s Note on ii. i. 9 —the fairy a orbs ”

or circles .

HALLIWELL describes these “ circles ” as being from four to
eight feet broad, , and from six to twelve feet in diameter.
What is the distinction between the breadth and the diameter
of a circle? A circle is a plane circumscribed by a line,
every part of which line is equidistant from the centre of the
plane.

But the circumscribing line may also be described as a
circle ; is it this line, ring, or belt which Halliwell describes
as being “ from four to eight feet broad ” ? [Probably so.
—Ed.]

Whatever its breadth, this line, ring, or belt must be
included in the diameter or breadth of the circle ; but the
highest figure which Halliwell gives for the diameter of the
circle is twelve feet, and a ring eight feet broad would alone
give sixteen feet, without taking into account the vacant
inner space of the circle. Surely Halliwell could not intend
to confine his diameter to this internal space. [Probably so.
— Ed.] And then again, are fairy rings ever “ from four to
eight feet broad ” ?

Has Halliwell been misread, and should we for feet read
inches ? [Probably not. — E d.]

I should like to read — “These rings are usually from four
to eight inches broad, and the entire circle from six to twelve
feet in diameter.”

APPENDIX III

Passages from Chaucer’s “ Knightes Tale/'

(Ed. Morris.)

“ Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,

Ther was a duk that highte Theseus ;

Of Athenes he was lord and governour,

And in his tyme swich a conquerour,

That gretter was ther non under the sonne. 5

Ful many a riche contre hadde he wonne ;

That with his wisdam and his chivalrie
He conquered all the regne of Ferny nye,

That whilom was i-cleped Cithea ;

And weddede the queen Ipolita, 10

And brought hire hoom with him in his contrd,

With moche glorie and gret solempnite,

And eek hire yonge suster Emelye.

And thus with victorie and with melodye

Lete I this noble duk to Athenes ryde, 15

And al his ost, in armes him biside.

And certes, if it nere to long to heere,

I wolde han told yow fully the manere,

Flow wonnen was the regne of Femenye
By Theseus, and by his chivalrye ; 20

And of the grete bataille for the nones
Bytwix Athenes and the Amazones ;

And how asegid was Ypolita,

The faire hardy quyen of Cithea ;

And of the feste that was at hire weddynge, 25

And of the tempest at hire hoom comynge ;

But al that thing I most as now forbere.

I have, God wot, a large feeld to ere/’

APPENDIX III

165

“ This passeth yeer by yeer, and day by day, 175

» Til it Tel oones yi a morwe of May
That Emelie, that fairer was to seene
Than is the lilie on hire stalkes grene,

And fresscher than the May with floures newe —

For with the rose colour strof hire hewe, 1 So

I not which was the fairer of hem two —

Er it was day, as sche was wont to do,

Sche was arisen, and al redy dight ;

For May wole have no sloggardye a nyght

The sesoun priketh every gen til herte 185

And maketh him out of his sleepe sterte,

And seith, ‘ Arys, and do thin observance/ ”

w The busy larke, messager of day,

Salueth in hire song the morwe gray ;

And fyry Phebus ryseth up so bright, 635

That al the orient laugheth of the light,

And with his stremes dryeth in the greves
The silver dropes, hongyng on the leeves.”

“ And Arcite, that is in the court ryal
With Theseus, his squyer principal, 640

Is risen, and loketh on the mery day.

And for to doon his observance to May,”

“ This mene I now by mighty Theseus, 815

That for to honten is so desirous,

And namely the grete hert in May,

That in his bed ther daweth him no day,

That he nys clad, and redy for to ryde

With hont and horn, and houndes him byside. 820

For in his hontyng hath he such delyt,

That it is al his joye and appetyt
To been himself the grete hertes bane,

For after Mars he serveth now Dyane”

“ Duk Theseus, and al his companye,

Is comen horn to Athenes his citd, 1835

With alle blys and gret solempnitd.”

166

APPENDIX III

“ — ne how the Grekes pleye
The wake-pleyes, kepp I nat to seye ;

Who wrastleth best naked, with oyle enoynt,

Ne who that bar him best in no disjoynt
I wol not telle eek how that they ben goon 209 5

Hoom til Athenes whan the pley is doon.”

APPENDIX IV

The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe in Golding's
Translation of “Ovid.”

WITHIN the towne (of whose huge walles so monstrous high
and thicke

The fame is giuen Semyra?nis for making them of bricke)
Dwelt hard together two yong folke in houses ioyned so nere
That vnder all one roofe well nie both twaine conueyed were.
The name of him was Pyramus , and Thisbe calde was she. 5
So faire a man in all the East was none aliue as he,

Nor nere a woman maide nor wife in beautie like to hir.

This neighbrod bred acquaintance first, this neyghbrod first
did stirre

The secret sparkes, this neighbrod first an entrance in did
showe

For loue to come to that to which it afterward did
growe. 10

And if that right had taken place they had bene man and wife,
But still their Parents went about to let which (for their life)
They could not let. For both their heartes with equall flame
did burne.

No man was prime to their thoughts. And for to serue their
turne

In steade of talke they vsed signes, the closelier they
supprest 15

The fire of loue, the fiercer still it raged in their brest
The wall that parted house from house had riuen therein a
crany

Which shronke at making of the wall, this fault not markt
of any

167

168

APPENDIX IV

Of many hundred yeares before (what doth not lone espie.)
These loners first of all found out, and igade a way
whereby r 20

To talke togither secretly, and through the same did goe
Their louing whisprings verie light and safely to and fro.
Now as a toneside Pyramus and Thisbe on the tother
Stoode often drawing one of them the pleasant breath from
other

O thou enuious wall (they sayd) why letst thou loners
thus ? 25

What matter were it if that thou permitted both of vs
In armes eche other to embrace ? Or if thou thinke that this
Were ouermuch, yet mightest thou at least make roume to
kisse.

And yet thou shalt not find vs churles ; we think our selues
in det

For this same piece of courtesie, in vouching safe to let 30
Our sayings to our friendly eares thus freely come and goe,
Thus hauing where they stoode in vaine complayned of their
woe,

When night drew nere, they bade adew and eche gaue kisses
sweete

Vnto the parget on their side, the which did neuer meete.
Next morning with hir cherefull light had driuen the starres
aside , 35

And Pkebus with his burning beames the dewie grasse had
dride.

These louers at their wonted place by foreappointment
met

Where after much complaint and mone they couenanted to
get

Away from such as watched them, and in the Euening late
To steale out of their fathers house and eke the Citie gate. 40
And to thentent that in the fieldes they strayde not vp and
downe ■

They did agree at Ninus Tumb to meete without the
towne,

And tarie vnderneath a tree that by the same did grow
Which was a faire high Mulberie with fruite as white as
snow,

APPENDIX IV 169

► Hard by a coo! and trickling spring. This bargaine pleasde
them both 45

And 1 * so daylight (whish to their thought away buj slowly
goth)

Did in the Ocean fall to rest, and night from thence doth
rise.

Assoone as darkenesse once was come, straight Thisbe did
deuise

A shift to wind hir out of doores, that none that were within
Perceyued hir: And muffling hir with clothes about hir
chin, 50

That no man might discerne hir face, to Ninus Tumb she

came

Vnto the tree, and sat her downe there vndemeath the same.
Loue made hir bold. But see the chance, there comes
besmerde with blood,

About the chappes a Lionesse all foming from the wood
From slaughter lately made of Kine to staunch hir bloudie
thurst 5 5

With water of the foresaid spring. Whome Thisbe spying
furst

A farre by moonelight, therevpon with fearfull steppes gan
flie,

And in a darke and yrksome caue did hide hirselfe thereby.
And as she fled away for hast she let hir mantle fall
The whych for feare she left behind not looking backe at
all. 60

Now when the cruell Lionesse hir thurst had stanched
well,

In going to the Wood she found the slender weed that fell
From Thisbe , which with bloudie teeth in pieces she did
teare

The night was somewhat further spent ere Py ramus came
there

Who seeing in the suttle sande the print of Lions paw, 65
Waxt pale for feare. But when also the bloudie cloke he
saw

All rent and torne, one night (he sayd) shall loners two con-
founde,

Of which long life deserued she of all that Hue on ground.

170 APPENDIX IV

My soule deserues of this mischaunce the peril 1 for to *
beare.

I wretch haue bene the death of thee", which to this place of
feare 70

Did cause thee in the night to come, and came not here
before.

My wicked limmes and wretched guttes with cruel! teeth
therefore

Deuour ye O ye Lions all that in this rocke doe dwell.

But Cowardes vse to wish for death. The slender weede
that fell

From Tkisbe vp he takes, and streight doth beare it to the
tree, 75

Which was appointed erst the place of meeting for to
bee.

And when he had bewept and kist the garment which he
knew,

Receyue thou my bloud too (quoth he) and therewithal! he
drew

His sworde, the which among his guttes he thrust, and ■
by and by

Did draw it from the bleeding wound beginning for to

die, " 80

And cast himselfe vpon his backe, the blood did spin
on hie '

As when a Conduite pipe is crackt, the water bursting
out

Doth shote itselfe a great way off and pierce the Ayre
about

The leaues that were vpon the tree besprincled with his
blood

Were died blacke. The roote also bestained as it stoode, 85
A deepe darke purple colour straight vpon the Berries '
cast

Anon scarce ridded of hir feare with which she was agast, -
For doubt of disapointing him commes Tkisbe forth in
hast,

And for hir louer lookes about, reloycing for to tell
How hardly she had seapt that night the daunger that
befell 9°

APPENDIX IV

171

And as she knew right well the place and facion of the tree
(As^whych ®she saw so late before): euen so when she did
see

The colour of the Berries turnde, she was vncertaln whither
It were the tree at which they both agreed to meete togither.
While in this doubtful stounde she stoode, she cast hir eye
aside 95

And there beweltred In his bloud hir louer she espide
Lie sprawling with his dying limmes : at which she started
backe,

And looked pale as any Box, a shuddring through hir
stracke,

Euen like the Sea which sodenly with whissing noyse
doth moue,

When with a little blast of winde it is but toucht

aboue. ioo

But when approching nearer him she knew it was hir
loue.

She beate hir brest, she shrieked out, she tare hir golden
heares

And taking him betweene hir armes did wash his wounds
with teares,

She meynt hir weeping with his bloud, and kissing all Ms
face

(Which now became as colde as yse) she cride In wofull
case 105

Alas what chaunce my Pyramus hath parted thee and
mee?

Make aunswere O my Pyramus : It is thy Thisb> euen
shee

Whome thou doste loue most heartely that speaketh vnto
thee.

Giue eare and rayse thy heauie heade. He hearing Thisbes
name,

Lift vp his dying eyes and hauing seene hir closde the
same. no

But when she knew hir mantle there and saw his scabberd
He

Without the swoorde : Vnhappy man thy loue hath made
thee die :

172 APPENDIX IV

Thy lone (she said) hath made thee slea thy selfe. This
hand of mine

Is strong inough to doe the like* My loue no lesse than
thine

Shall giue me force to worke my wound, I will pursue the
dead. 115

And wretched woman as I am, it shall of me be sed
That like as of thy death I was the only cause and blame,

So am I thy companion eke and partner in the same,

For death which only collide alas a sunder part vs twaine,
Shall neuer so disseuer vs but we will meete againe. 120
And you the Parentes of vs both, most wretched folke
alyue,

Let this request that I shall make in both our names
byliue

Entreate you to permit that we whome chaste and stedfast
loue

And whome euen death hath ioynde in one, may as it doth
behoue

In one graue be together layd. And thou vnhappie tree 125
Which shroudest now the corse of one, and shalt anon
through mee

Shroude two, of this same slaughter holde the sicker \
signes for ay [

Blacke be the colour of thy fruite and mourning like alway, j
Such as the murder of vs twaine may euermore bewray, J
This said, she tooke the sword yet warme with slaughter of
hir loue 130

And setting it beneath hir brest, did to hir heart it shoue.
Her prayer with the Gods and with their Parentes tooke
effect

For when the fruite is throughly ripe, the Berrie is bespect
With colour tending to a blacke. And that which after
fire

Remained, rested in one Tumbe as Thisbe did desire.

*35

APPENDIX IV

A New Sonej of Py^amus and Thisbe.

To the » Downe right Squier .

1. Ou Dames (I say) that climbe the mount

of Helicon,

Come on with me, and giue account,
what hath been don :

Come tell the chaunce ye Muses all,
and doleful! newes,

Which on these Loners did befall,
which I accuse.

In Babilon not long agone,

a noble Prince did dwell :

Whose daughter bright dimd ech ones sight,
so farre she did excel.

2. An other Lord of high renowne,

who had a sonne :

And dwelling there within the towne
great loue begun ne :

Pyramus this noble Knight,

I tel you true :

Who with the loue of Thisbe bright,
did cares renue :

It came to passe, their secrets was,
beknowne vnto them both :

And then in minde, their place do finde,
where they their loue vnclothe.

3. This loue they vse long tract of time,

till it befell :

At last they promised to meet at prime
by Minus well ;

Where they might louingly imbrace,
in loues delight :

That he might see his Tkisbies face
and she his sight :

174

APPENDIX IV

In ioyfull case, she approcht the place,,
where she her Pyramus r
» Had thought to viewd, but 'fras renewd
to them most dolorous.

4 . Thus while she stales for Pyramus »

there did proceed :

Out of the wood a Lion fierce,
made Thisbie dreed :

And as in haste she fled awaie,
her Mantle fine :

The Lion tare in stead of praie,
till that the time
That Pyramus proceeded thus,
and see how lion tare
The Mantle this of Thisbie his,

he desperately doth fare.

5. For why he thought the lion had

faire Thisbie slaine.

And then the beast with his bright blade,
he slew certaine :

Then made he mone and said alas,

(O wretched wight)

Now art thou in a woful case,

For Thisbie bright :

O Gods aboue, my faithfull loue

shal neuer faile this need :

For this my breath by fatall death,
shal weaue Atropos threedL

6. Then from his sheath he drew his blade,

and to his hart

He thrust the point, and life did vade,
with painfull smart :

Then Thisbie she from cabin came
with pleasure great,

And to the well apase she ran,
there for to treat :

APPENDIX IV

175

And to discusse, with Pyramus
of al her former feares.

And when slaine she, found him truly,
she shed foorth bitter teares.

7. When sorrow great that she had made,
she took in hand

The bloudie knife, to end her life,
by fatal! hand.

You Ladies all, peruse and see,
the faithfulnesse,

How these two Louers did agree,
to die in distresse :

You Muses waile, and do not faile,
but still do you lament :

These louers twaine, who with such paine,
did die so well content

Finis*

I. Thomson.

INDEX

The References

are to ike Notes,

PAGE

■ PAGE

“a w and "o’ sound

57

Bergomask dance

.

154

abridgement

134

best, you were „■

22

aby .

93

103

beteem

II

ace .

151

blessed (bride-bed)

157

Acheron .

104

blind-worms

58

adamant .

5i

boar .

120

addrest

139

bones, tongs, etc.

114

admirable .

133

bottle of hay

1 14

Aegles, Aegle .

40

Bottom’s dream

*

127

after-supper

133

bow-strings, hold or cut

30

aggravate .

27

brake

.

*

67, 71

Agnus Castus .

ii7

brawls

«'

42

alteration

142

breath

.

48

alone

89

brief .

. -

134

Antiopa

40

broom (Robin Goodfellow $)

A .

156

an 5 twere .

28

bully

•

67,

129

Apollo . . »

H

bush «

.

' y :

141

apricocks .

78

Ariadne

40

calendar y

.

.

70

artificial .

94

canker-blossom ,

,

IOO

ass-head .

74, 75

cankers » .

*

. .

,

58

at night, .

*

,

22

car, Phibbus’

v A

25

aunt ....

.

37

carol

.

y y

•

44

cat, tear a .

; : * V

24

Bacon quoted .

no

Centaurs .

.

,

135

badge . ♦ *

,

90

centre

,

yyy

§5

barm

♦

*

35

Cephalus .

*

106

barren

♦

: ; #

81

ceremony ,

.

:'y J

A-

135

bated

*

17

certain

»’■ ;

48 ,

141

beached margent

.

4 *

chamber, great .

.

70

bear .

.

120

changeling

.

A, -

34

beard coming . _ .

.

25

cheer

.

;.v, •;

88

beard, purple-in-grain

*

29

cheer, winter »

,

44

beard, straw-colour .

*

28

chiding y

,

Ay

121

belike

•; A

11

childing .

.

46

bequeath .

.

92

choughs .

>

-

: . '

82

INDEX

coffe .

*

PAGE

38

eastern gate •

.

f

PAGE

. 106

coil .

♦

103

eglantine .

if.

#

f*

S6

Coleridce quoted

Sh

155

eight anfi six

•

68

collied

. ■

*4

either

.

35

colour. French crown

29

eke .

.

73

comedy, lamentable

22

Elizabeth s progresses

138

compact

*3*

Epanalepsis

117

companies (stranger)

19

Ercles

24

companion

5

estate

10

conceits

6

Ethiope

98

constancy .

133

expense, dear

21

continents .

42

extort *

92

coocko-spel, the
Corin

*53

39

fair * . . *

J6

corn, pipes of .

39

fancy

*5

courtesy

n 3

fancy-sick .

88

cowslips

32

favour

*7»

116

coy .

112

fearful wild-fowl

69

crab .

37

fee, lover’s

89

cranny

143

feigning

6

crazed

9

fell, lion »

147

critical

135

filly foal .

36

crown, thin and icy

45

Sew’d

121

cry .

122

flouts

91

cuckoo

76

fond

6*3,

102

cue .

7i

forty

50

Cupid’s arrow .
Cupid’s bow

Cupid’s flower .

16

freckles

33

16!

French crown colour

29

117 j

French crowns .

29

curst .

IOI

furies

150

damned spirits .

106

gallant

, 23

Daphne

54

generally .

■ 22

darkling *

63

genitive, inflected

32,

119

dear expense

21

girdle

50

Dekker’s Guls Hornbook

quoted .

*39

glance at , .

40

derived . *

10

gleek

; 77

desire of .

79

glimmering

40

detest .

109

glow-worm

79

dew (in the moon)

So

g° *

■ n

dewberries

78

God bless us *

128,

152

dew-lapp’d

122

God warrant us .

152

Dian’s bud

1*7

gold coats .

.

33

die the death

S

Goldingham, II.

70

discord, musical

121

good fairy .
gossip’s bowl

38

displease .

;g. ;

85

36

distemperature .

* .

45

government

X4£

dove, sucking .

27

great chamber .

70

dragons, night’s

*05

green (eyes)

*53

Drayton

griffin

. ;

54

;::;8

*

86

grow to a point .

■ >':g

t';V22.

duke

duke’s oak ,

' *

5

30

hands (applause)

* '

*59

INDEX

179

PAGE ] PAGE

'head.* . * *

*

*

IO

love’s richest book

#

, .

65

■ Hecatj^ . ■ * ' ^

*

*5$

loves, of all

*.

66

► Helen's beauty .

•

132

hash, luscious

•■its

*

56

Hercules .

.

120

here and there .

*

33

margent, beached

*

*

43

hindering knot-grass

«

103

married state

.

*

8

Hobgoblin

.

36

marvellous

„

*

67

hold or cut bow-strings

30

match’d in mouth (hounds)

122

hold up (a jest) -

97

May-day .

1 5

- hounds

121

maypole , ■

1,01

human mortals .

44 i

mazes . * ■

.

43

hymn

44 !

means

.

mew’d

8

i<je, hot

135

middle summer’s spring

41

immediately

7

mimic

81

in = within, on .

41

minimus .

102

injury

48

misgrafifed * . *

13

intend ^ .

203

mislead

3&

...interchained

61

mispris'd mood .

86

interchanged

61

misprision

87

invisibility of Oberon

and Fuck

S 1

mis-punctuation .

140

iteration (figure of)

*

142

momentany

14

ivy •

11 5

moon

44

moon, dew in the

80

Jack and Jill

,

». ■

in

moones

32

jewel

,

116

morning’s love .

106

juggler

,

100

mortals, human .

44, “9

juvenal

.

73i

Mote

7S, 152

mouths

.

97

kill-courtesy

,

62

mows

-

153

kind

.

7 :

mure

.

145

knee-deep

84

murrion, murrain

,

.

42

knight, wandering

25

Muses, thrice three

.

135

knot-grass .

*

m

musk-roses

*

56

lack-love .

.

62

naught y ,

128

lakin

*

68

neaf, neif *

.

»

113

lamentable comedy

22

neeld

.

*

95

lanthom .

,

147

neeze

»

.

38

latch .

.

new-bent (moon)

V

4

leviathan .

.

$0

newes

*

.

99

like = as

»

125

newts

.

,

58

Limander .

.

145

night-rule *

-

*

80

line lost

.

152

nine-men’s morris

,

: ,

42

lingers *

„

nole .

.

81

livery

•

- %

nun .

-

8

lob .

.

33

nuptial

: *

*

II,

*37

lode-stars •

„

17

Ioffe .

t . :

38

“ 0” and “a” sound .

.

„

57

loose *

49

oak, duke’s

. ■;

.

3°

love-in-idleness *

*

49

obscenely >

*

y

.

3°

' lovely . .

*

95

observance

♦

,

15

lover’s fee . *

*

•

89

odious

•

•

72

180

INDEX

■ PAGE

PAGE

CCS , . « *■'

* 93

right . ■ .

• ,

10 1

of all loves

. 66

ringlets * . ■ r

42

orange-tawny

, 2$

ripe=rijfen

, ■ *

65

orbs

* 3^

Robin Good -fellow

» *

35

orient

. 1 16

round ' ,

* 47

74

other some

. 20

roundel

57

ousel .

. 75

rubies (cowslip) •

. ..

33

ox-lips . .

. 55

Rushton quoted . .31,

49} 92, ■

142,

i53

pap .... .

* *££

russet-pated choughs .

82

parlous . . .

. 6S

parted eye ....

. 126

sad ....

1 19

participle, active and passive

. 143

sanded

. . ■

121

patch . . .

. Si

Scot, Reginald, quoted

.

%

patched ....

. 127

scrip ....

. .

22

patent, virgin

9

scroll

22

paved fountains .

. 4 1

seal ....

* ' . . V

pearl ....

• 33

sealing-day

. ^ / .. .

9

pensioners . .. ..

. 32

seething

13*

Perigouna, Perigenia .

. 40

self ....

*

11

persever . . .

. 97

serpent’s tongue (hiss)

. ' .

159

pert .

4

set his wit to *

76

Phxbbus’ car

• 25

shadows = actors

». .

159

Phillida ....

* 39

shapes

.

132

Philostrate . . 4, 134, 137

sheen

. .

34

pipes of corn

. 39

shoes, o’er

.

84

plain-song .

. 76

Sidney

. .

32

point, grow to a

. 22

sigh (costing blood) .

•

88

pomp . . .

5

: since ....

.

48

preferred ....

. 130

single state

.

8

preposterously . . .

* 85

| sinister

.

143

present ....

• 7 i

sisters three

. 150,

153

princess . . .

. 91

sixpence a-day . »

♦ <r

129

Procris and Cephalus . .

. 145

smartly

.

49

prologue ....

* 139

snow, strange, stained

.

135

properties ....

* 30

snuff, in

.

148

purple-in-grain beard .

. 29

solemnity .

•

4

Pyramus .

- 135

sort ....

8l

,92

Spartan hounds . ,

.

121

quantity .

20

speak small

.

26

quell . . .

. 150

Spenser

3*

>32

quern ....

* 35

sphere

» *

32

question ....

* s 5

sphery ,

.

64

quill. . . * .

. 76

spiders

. •

59

spinners . . *

* »

59

recorder . . • ■■■■*■

. 140

spleen ,

14

remote . . .

15

split „ . ^

.

24

rere-mice . *

■ 5^

spots (cowslip) .

• .

33

rere-supper . . «

• 133

spotted

.

II

respect . » . .

• 15

spring, middle summer’s

* . ■ • .

41

respect, my . . v

• 53

sprite

•

35

.''rest : .

. 24

square

V ■ .

34

rheumatic . . *■ , •

* 45

squash . . .

• ; . » '

79

INDEX

181

stamp

PAGE
• |

transported

PAGE

. . 12 $

steep » * i

* 39 ;

transposition of lines *

>5, 35, ( 56 ),

steppe

.

* 39 i

trim .

- 149, 15S

still ,

. 19 i

• . 91

'Stop ' ;•

. 140

triumph

5

storms

* 23

two of the first .

• * 95

stranger companies
straw-colour beard

. 19

. 28

unbreathed

* * 137

strings (beards) ,

• ^3°

uncouple .

• X19

sucking dove

i

. 27

underlay, the

* *53

summer’s day .

. 28

upon = by .

* * 55

swimming .

tailor

. 47

* 37

vaward * ■ ■ »

versing

. . 119

* 39

Tartar’s bow

. 88

viliagery . . ■ .

* 35

Tawyer

. 141

virgin patent

9

tear a cat ■ ,

. 24

virtuous . *

. 105

thick-skin .

. Si

Thisby’s mother
Thisne

. 26

wandering knight

* * 25

26

wash’d (with tears) *

. . 63

thorough .

* 31

weed

, 56, 62

throstle

* 75

whereon .

* . 55

through

•

whit .

• * 73

thrum

. 150

wild-fowl, fearful

» • 69

tiring-house

. 67

winter cheer

. 44

tongs and bones

. JI 4

withering out

» * 3

touch

* 86

without

. 29, 124

trace •

* 34

woo d^mad

• v

translated . •

75

woodbine * . ,

• 56, ns

Printed by

Morrison & Gibb Limited

Edinburgh